‘O’ LEVEL COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES

CAMBRIDGE(7010/1-2) & ZIMSEC(7014/1-2)

Computer studies
Is a subject that deals with the study of what computers are, how they work and how
to use them. It also involves the application of scientific principles in the design,
construction and maintenance of computer-based systems.

Importance of computer studies

 It increases pupils’ chances of employment after leaving school
 Prepares pupils for further studies or training in computing field
 Knowledge gained in computer studies can also be applied in other subjects e.g.
spreadsheet knowledge can be used in Maths, Accounts and Science

Computer
Is an electronic device(machine) that works under the control of an operating system
automatically accepting and processing data to produce information.

General structure of the computer

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Note:
 Data normally flows from input devices or backing storage into main memory
and from main memory to output devices or backing storage.
 In some cases data flows directly from input devices to the processor and from
the processor to the output devices
 The processor performs operations on data from main storage and returns the
results of processing to backing storage

Basic elements and functions of a computer

The main and basic elements of a computer are:

 Input
 Storage
 Control
 Processing
 Output

Input devices
Are used to enter data into the computer for storage and processing after converting it
to computer-readable form i.e. electronic signals. Currently input devices range from
those that enter speech, handwritten text, pictures etc.

Main storage
Data and instructions enter main storage until needed for processing. Storage is
mainly used for:

 Holding data and instructions before processing

 Holding data and instructions during processing
 Holding results or output of processing

Control Unit
Is the circuitry responsible for managing and directing all operations of the computer.
It decodes and interprets instructions and issues necessary signals to all computer
components.

Central processor
Is the part responsible for all computing i.e.:
 arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, division and multiplication and
 logical operations(comparisons) like >, <, =, >=, <=, NOT, AND, NAND, NOR,
XOR etc

Output devices
Are peripheral devices responsible for displaying or printing the results of processing
(information). These convert information from electronic signals and present in
human-readable form. Printed information is called hardcopy and information
displayed on the screen is called softcopy.

Basic terminology in computers

Hardware

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Refers to all physical components of a computer (mechanical and electronic) that are
tangible e.g. the monitor, keyboard, CPU etc.

Software
Are all programs installed or that can be installed on a computer together with
associated documentation e.g. Windows XP, MS Office 2000, Novell Netware etc.
Software is divided into two main classes:
 systems software and
 applications software

Firmware
Is a combination of both hardware and software i.e. software embedded in electronic
chips e.g. ROM.

Data
Are all raw facts and figures that are entered into the computer for processing e.g.
prices of products and sales figures.

Information
Refers to the processed version of data that is meaningful e.g. the calculated profits
from sales figures

Program
Is a set, sequence or suite of instructions written in a computer programming
language to perform a certain or specific function.

Reasons that led to the development of computers

 the need for machines that could process data much faster than humans
 the need for machines that could work for 24 hours without getting tired,
boredom or fatigue
 the need for machines that could handle complex calculations and processing
 the need for machines with large but compact storage capacities

Classification of computers
Computers can be classified by two ways:

Classification by processing power

Mainframe computer
Is the largest computer in terms of:
 processing capacity and speed
 physical size
 storage capacities
Mainframes are or were mainly used as servers on large networks of very large
organizations like Government departments or ministries, banks, private companies
etc. Mainframes produce a lot of heat and as such are housed in specially ventilated
and air-conditioned rooms.

Minicomputer
Is or was the second largest computer after the mainframe in terms of:
 processing capacity and speed
 physical size
 storage capacities
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Minicomputers are or were used as servers on fairly large networks e.g. DEC’s VAX
range

Microcomputers
 Is the ordinary desktop PC that is built on a microprocessor chip. It uses the
microprocessor as its CPU.
 Various integrated circuits and elements of a computer are replaced by a single
chip known as integrated circuit.
 The design of the microcomputer is modular i.e. it consists of self-contained
units mounted on a main circuit card known as the motherboard which
incorporates a microcomputer and enough memory. Examples include IBM PC,
Compaq, Macintosh, Apple, Commodore etc.

Supercomputers or Super micros

A new breed of computers which are smaller in physical size but processing power and
storage capacities that can be equated to those of old mainframes and minicomputers.
An example is the Cray.

Classification by means of processing

Digital computers
 Are the most common types of computers which store, process and represent
data in discrete values of 1s and 0s.
 They also use the value 1 to mean ON and 0 to mean OFF
 Each number, letter or special symbol is a special 3-number code which will be
changed to a series of various combinations of 1s and 0s.
 Digital computers are used business, schools, hospitals and homes

Analog computers
 They process data in form of electrical voltages and hydraulic pressures. They
are similar in operation to measuring devices and thus measure variable
magnitudes.
 Output from analog computers is often in form of smooth graphs from which
information can be read
 Are mostly used in research and engineering institutions

Hybrid computers
 As their name suggests, they have combined features of both digital and analog
computers
 Are mostly used in research institutions but are not very common.

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The microprocessor
Is a single microchip containing all the elements of a CPU. It can also be referred to as
a processor on a silicon chip with circuits imprinted on a small wafer of silicon.

Microprocessor-based systems
Being cheap, small and fast in operation, microprocessors are ideally suitable for
implementation in control applications.
Microprocessors can be programmed to carry out a predetermined sequence of
operations. Examples of microprocessor-based applications are:

 Domestic washing machines

 Microwave cookers
 Modern cars
 Burglar alarms(security systems)
 Video cameras
 Digital watches
 Telephone exchange centres

Microwave cookers
Function by switching a microwave unit on for a sufficient time to either defreeze
frozen food or cook it. Modern cookers have sensors attached to a microprocessor for
detecting:

 Weight of food
 Temperature of food

When turned on, the sensors take the above readings, and the microprocessor
continually monitor sensor readings and by referring to a programmed in-built
database of food types, the microprocessor determine time needed to cook or defreeze
food.

Some cookers will also have additional sensors for detecting:

 Amount of steam produced during cooking

 Amount of alcohol produced

Burglar alarms
Have a number of sensors that are linked and continually monitored by a
microprocessor to determine for a change of state. Sensors normally detect:

 Movement of people closer to house or buildings

 Opening of windows or doors

When such changes are detected, an alarm or bell may be rang and in advanced
system, if the system is connected to a telephone, a message can be relayed to the
Police

Autofocus camera
Are fitted with several sensors that send data to an in-built microprocessor that make
calculations and adjustments on the best way of getting the picture wanted.
When the exposure button is pressed, a high frequency sound is sent from the camera
to the object and after hitting the object, it bounces back to the receiver on the
camera.

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The microprocessor calculates the distance and time taken by sound to travel from the
camera to the object and back to the camera
Using the calculation results, it will set accordingly the following:
 exposure
 focus
 zooming
A photocell or light sensor is used to measure the intensity or level of light.

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 4.1 APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS AND THEIR SOCIAL ECONOMIC
IMPLICATIONS

Application of computers in communication, information and on-line systems.

E-mail (electronic mail)

Is a text message created on a computer and sent over a computer and
telecommunications network.

The text message is sent over a telephone system from the sending computer to a
central computer known as the electronic post office, which allocates disk space to act
as an electronic mail box for each user. To access the mailbox, the user will have to
enter the password, which acts as a key to the mailbox. The password is important
because it acts as a security measure for the mailbox. To be able to use and receive e-
mails, the user must have an e-mail address and a computer connected to a telephone
line with either an in-built MODEM or external MODEM.

An example of an e-mail address:

Linny@kutamacollege.ac.zw

Country code (zw for Zimbabwe)

Academic institution (service provider)

Organization or company name

User’s name

The above simply means, Linny has an e-mail account with an academic institution
called kutamacollege based in Zimbabwe.

NOTE:
Ac: refers to academic institution such as college, university or school
Org: refers to organization
Co/com : refers to company or co-operation

e-mail address may take some variations as below:

nyasha@hotmail.com brendon@netone.co.zw john@netscape.net

Advantages of e-mail over ordinary postal mail

(a) faster than postal mail since messages can be delivered within seconds
anywhere in the world
(b) e-mails have access security since they make use of passwords to open the
mailbox
(c) e-mails are convenient in terms of time since they can be delivered any time or
day unlike postal mail, which is normally delivered midweek.
(d) e-mails are cheaper since it costs an equivalent of local telephone call charges
for the period of connection. Alternatively, the user can create a message whilst
offline and then make a connection for a few messages to send the message

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 (e) safe mail delivery since there is no human intervention like post men
(f) e-mails can be electronically filed and stored

Advantages of e-mail over conventional telephone system

(a) allows pictures and other attachments to be attached to the message/mail
(b) allows one message to be sent to multiple users at the same time
(c) cheaper than telephone as the message can be created offline and a connection
only made when sending the message

Disadvantages of e-mails
(a) can only be used by people with access to the Internet or e-mail facility
(b) leads to loss of jobs for the postal industry since less letters will be going
through the conventional post office
(c) there is a possibility of some computer hackers intercepting some confidential
people’s e-mails

The Internet(aka the information superhighway)

Is a global network of interconnected networks connected to each other by telephone
lines and satellite systems.

The Internet is a complicated information storage system where files are located in
thousands of sites across the world. The files contain a variety of information ranging
from text, graphics, software, video and audio recordings.

History of the Internet

The present day Internet is a product of the converging technologies of academic
freedom and military need. During the cold war in 1979, the US military department
decided to design a network system that could send information to various command
centers in operation. The academics working in the military also realized that
communication between institutions could be improved by sending data through
cables such as telephone lines and the two needs combined to create the first
forerunner of the present Internet called ARPANET(Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network). ARPANET was further developed resulting in present day Internet.

Services on the Internet

(a) e-mail facility – one can create an e-mail address on the Internet and send or
receive e-mail messages
(b) browsing and downloading information to one’s computer
(c) file transfer from one computer to another using the FTP(File Transfer Protocol)
(d) Internet shopping and banking
(e) newsgroups and chatrooms which allows one to access a wide range of
information and postings from various registered users
(f) previewing movies and playing audio recordings(music)
(g) business and academic research
(h) electronic libraries which allows one to access an electronic copy of a book
provided you a registered member
(i) viewing some TV channels and radio stations
(j) bulletin board services where one can post a question which will be answered
by anyone

website
Is an Internet address where information about a particular individual, company or
country is found.

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A website carries a common format as below:

www.digitalsystems.co.zw

country code(zw for Zimbabwe)

service provider(the company)

name of company

world wide web

Normally the ‘http’ that comes before www stands for ‘hyper text transfer protocol’

Internet Service Providers(ISP)

Are government, large companies or universities which run networks that acts as a
gateway and connects all other users to the Internet.

Individuals and other companies go through these companies to have a connection on

the Internet. In Zimbabwe examples of the ISPs are:

(a) Yo! Africa

(b) Liquid Telcoms
(c) Tel-one
(d) Econet
(e) Net-one
(f) Telcel
(g) Powetel
(h) Africom

ISP may also be referred to as IAP (Internet Access Providers)

Search engine
A program that is used to navigate and search for and display information available on
the requested website e.g. the yahoo search engine, goggle search engine etc. It
performs the similar function with the Internet explorer which is a Microsoft tool used
to browse and navigate(explore) the Internet.

Equipment necessary to access the Internet

(a) PC
(b) MODEM(MOdulator/DEModulator)
(c) ASDL line
(d) Specialist connection software(provided by ISP)

Once you have the above, you then contact an ISP who will issue the following:

(a) IP(Internet Protocol) address

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 (b) Telephone number(to dial in order to get a connection)

Intranet
Is a closed network private to a school, college or organization which contains
information stored centrally for that particular organization. Intranet are mainly used
by large multinational companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, etc.

electronic video conferencing

Is a communication system that allows people to be simultaneously connected and
make a discussion or meeting from different parts of the world with voices and videos
being available e.g. one in France, one South Africa, one in Zimbabwe and one in
Germany.

This system is only possible through use of specialist studio equipment or attached
telephone, microphone and digital camera to take motion video clips and upload them
instantly such that they will be seen by the other people connected.

Electronic video conferencing is a further improvement from teleconferencing which

only allows simultaneous connection of more than two people at the same time from
various parts of the country or various parts of the world where only voices will be
available and no videos.

Facsimile(fax)
Is a system in which documents are placed in a fax machine which scans the
document line by line converting it into a stream of electronic pulses which will then
be transmitted over a telephone to the receiving fax machine which converts the
electronic pulses back to the original message which will be printed on the paper.

To send a document using a fax, the person insert a document in a fax paper tray and
then dial the receiving fax machine number, if the line is free then the fax machine
scans the document into stream of electronic pulses which will be sent over a
telephone line and converted back from pulses to the original message and printed at
the receiving fax machine.

Fax machines use microprocessors to scan the documents and convert the messages
line by line to electronic pulses and then back to the original message.

However there are new developments under Microsoft Fax program where a fax
message can be created on the PC and send it through the telephone line to the
receiving fax machine.

Teletext
Is a system in which textual information such as sports news, weather reports, airline
and train schedules is broadcast via television sets in one direction only.

The TV set or receiver is only able to receive the information and cannot communicate
back. The system needs a TV set, a special adapter and a special remote control for
use when choosing particular information e.g. the BBC’s version called Ceefax and
Independent Broadcasting Authority’s version called Oracle.

Teletex
Is a new version of the old telex system which is a further development from teletext in
that it is compatible with the fax and is able to send both pictures and text unlike
teletext which can only send text?

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INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information retrieval system

Are systems that allow one to create, store and retrieve records from a database for
processing requests.

In schools, a common example is to set up student records using such packages as

MS Access, dBase IV, Interbase and Quest. In industry a common example is to set up
employee, customer or supplier records.

Library systems
Are computer-based systems which allow one handle loaning out, returning, booking
and queries about book status easily?

A typical library contains thousands of books, journals, magazines, reports etc which
borrowers may wish to borrow. Maintaining such records of books and borrowers is
best done by a computer system which will contain all or part of the following
information:

(a) ISBN(International Standard Book Number)

(b) title of book
(c) author
(d) publisher
(e) date published
(f) edition
(g) date of borrowing
(h) due date
(i) date of returning
(j) loan category e.g. short or standard loan
(k) borrower’s name and number

If the librarian enters the book number, the system will search in its database and
display the result e.g. whether the book is available, if not available, the system will
display details of the person who has borrowed it and when it will be returned.

The system will be able to produce various reports such as those for:

(a) books currently borrowed out

(b) books due for return that day or on specified date
(c) books on reserve list
(d) books lost and replaced
(e) books by a specific author
(f) books under a specific subject e.g. all titles for computers etc

Office automation
The substantial use of computers in conjuction with other electronic equipment such
as answering machines, fax machines, telephones, photocopier, duplicating machines,
word processors etc to automate basic secretarial and clerical duties in the office.

The repetitive and routine nature of large amount of office work makes a target for
office automation. Most office automation systems in use involves PCs or work stations
on a network with print servers and file servers which provides access to a variety of

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software including word processing, spreadsheet, databases, e-mail, fax, uploading
data points etc.

Online systems
An online system is one that is interactive in nature meaning it allows the user to
interrogate the system or supply information and get an instant response.

Online systems are mainly used in banking systems and hotel and airline booking
systems.

(a) on-line banking system

This system allows an account holder to make withdrawal either inside the banking
hall, on the ATM or Point-Of-Sale terminal in large shops like OK, TM, Spar etc at any
branch and have the balance on the account updated instantly. This prevents abuse
by people who may make overdrafts by making multiple withdrawals from different
ATMs if the system is offline.

(b) on-line airline booking(reservation) system

This system allows people from various parts of the world to make bookings for flights
on various airlines and have the system update booked seats and number of vacant
seats left. This prevents overbooking of a flight, which may cause a lot of
inconveniences to the customer.

How the system works

For example Air Zimbabwe will have a central computer that can be accessed 24 hours
a day from anywhere in the world by various travel agents. Each travel agent is
supplied with a telephone number for remote access, ID code and password for
security reasons so as to prevent illegal access and booking. Clients will go through
travel agents who in turn will make a booking on their behalf.

Multimedia(aka hypermedia)
An interactive system used for presentation of audio, video and text data as a way of
communicating information.

Multimedia is mainly used in marketing, sales, training, education and entertainment.

A multimedia consists of the following components:

(a) Personal Computer(PC)

(b) High resolution monitor(CRT – Cathode Ray Tube)
(c) CD-ROM drive
(d) Video camera
(e) Speakers
(f) Colour graphics printer
(g) Scanners

A good example of multimedia is Microsoft Encarta which gives access to research

information.
In education, multimedia is used to:

(a) present simulated science demonstrations

(b) introduce a new topic because it can be controlled to proceed at a speed that
suits the student either slowly or fast
(c) learn boring topics since they can be made fun or interesting by graphics and
sound

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(d) give and mark a test instantly

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 Application of computers in commercial and general data processing

Computers can be used in the following areas:

 banking
 accounting and manufacturing
 personnel systems
 hospitals
 electronic commerce
 stock control

Computers in banking industry

Developments in IT have led to significant changes in banking system. Traditionally

people used to pay for goods and services by means of cheques or cash. Where
cheques were used, transactions would take days to complete.

In banking industry computers are used for:

 keeping and management of client accounts

 processing all debit card transactions
 processing all electronic funds transfer
 monitoring and processing ATM transactions
 computerized cheque processing

Automated Teller Machines (ATM)

Are computer terminals connected to a central computer in the bank through which
customers can perform various functions such as:

 cash withdrawals
 cash deposits
 balance enquiries
 statement requests
 cheque book application
 pay for bills e.g. ZESA, TelOne, City of Harare
 change PIN(Personal Identification Number)
 inter-account funds transfer

Advantages of ATMs

 no carrying of large sums of cash which attract thieves

 services available 24hrs a day
 convenient as one can perform transactions at any ATM bearing the Zimswitch
logo

Disadvantages of ATMS

 system failure leads to no transactions possible

 possibility of mugging at cash point
 cash withdrawal limits e.g. maximum of $1000 per day or $1000 thousand per
transaction
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To use an ATM, the client is supplied with a ATM card with details of the account
holder encoded on a black magnetic strip at the back of the card with a unique PIN. In
Zimbabwe, a further development is the Zimswitch network facility that allows one to
make ATM transactions on any ATM bearing the Zimswitch logo even if its not his or
her bank or branch e.g. a CABS Mutare branch client can make ATM transactions on
Chinhoyi Zimbank as long as both banks are online on the Zimswitch network.

e-banking (electronic banking)

Is a new development whereby people are able to access their bank accounts through
a computer connected to the bank through a telephone (landline or mobile number)
from home or office.

e-banking consists of banking from one of the following remote sites:

 home – called home banking

 office – called office banking
 ATM
 Mobile Banking (a recent development being piloted by Steward Bank and
Econet Wireless)

N.B Both home and office banking can be referred to as PC banking

Examples include Zimbank’s Bank Direct Program and Standard Chartered’s EBS for
Windows(Electronic Banking System for Windows)

Services available on e-banking include:

 downloading and printing statements

 funds transfer
 balance enquiries
 checking exchange rates

Services not available on e-banking include:

 cash withdrawal
 cash deposits
 encashment of cheques
 foreign currency transactions

Advantages of e-banking

 the system is safe since no carrying of large sums of money is involved which
attract thieves
 convenience as transactions can be done in the comfort of the office or home
any time
 security as the system as in-built security features such as passwords and
access and authorisation level codes.
 cheaper since there are no transport costs and related cheque processing fees
 faster and efficient as the system does not involve standing in queues

EFT(electronic funds transfer)

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Is a facility that allows the account holder to transfer funds from one account to
another or to make payments?

 An international example of EFT is the SWIFT(Society for World Wide Inter-bank

Financial Telecommunications)
 A national example of inter-bank EFT is called CHAPS(Clearing House
Automated Payment System)

EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale)

Is a further development from EFT which allows people to purchase goods in large
supermarkets like OK, TM, Spar etc using debit cards or ATM cards with details of the
account holder encoded on the black strip at the back.

The card is swiped and scanned by computerized sensors at the point of sale(till point)
and the card holder is asked to enter the PIN. If the PIN is correct, money is
transferred (debited) from the account of the account holder and credited to the shop’s
account if the system is online.

Internet banking
A new development in banking where people can access their accounts through the
Internet and perform various functions.

Services available on Internet Banking:

 funds transfer
 checking exchange rates
 checking account balances
 downloading and printing statements

Services not available on Internet banking

 cash deposits
 cash withdrawals
 cheque processing
 foreign currency transactions
 loan processing

e-commerce(electronic commerce)
Is basically trading through use of computer and telecommunications networks and
involves the exchange of standard business documents such as orders, invoices and
statements through computer networks of trading partners usually managed by a
specialist third party e-commerce company such as Tradanet.

e-commerce may also be known as EDI(Electronic Data Interchange). Common areas

of e-commerce application are:

Order processing
This involves the exchange of standard business documents such as orders, invoices
and statements through computer networks of trading partners usually managed by a
specialist third party e-commerce company

In Zimbabwe, a good example is the use of Tradanet’s EDI program called Intercept
Plus for:

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  placing orders
 sending invoices
 making payments(funds transfer)

Examples of shops which use Intercept Plus program are OK, Spar, Johnson &
Johnson, Charhons etc.

 If an order is received, the system checks if there are enough stocks and then
its processed. If stocks are not adequate for the order, the order is placed on
back order which will be processed when the stocks become available.
 The selling company will then send an invoice to the buying company
 If the buying company receives the goods and invoices, it will electronically
transfer funds from its company account to that of the selling company account

Electronic salary payments

Is another component or application of e-commerce and a good example is Tradanet’s
Paynet program which was piloted at Zimbank and Beverley. The program enables
companies to send electronic details of salaries through the computer network which
will be effected and downloaded on various employee bank accounts on the pay day.

Advantages of computerized cheque processing

 The system is faster since naturally computers process data much faster than
humans
 Computers are accurate in calculations than human beings prone to
mathematical errors
 Computers have programmed validation checks to trap any input errors
 Computers are able to maintain up-to-date account transactions details unlike
in manual systems where transactions takes days to clear

Application of computers in personnel systems

These are systems that maintain records of employees especially:

 employment history
 qualifications
 training
 salary scale
 allowances and deductions
 payment details

Calculations of salaries and wages used to be time consuming, tedious and labourious
task as it involved repetitive tasks.

These days workers use clock or time cards when they come to work and when they
finish which they swipe on computerised time-logging and scanning machine which
reads employee details encoded on the black strip and capture time of entry or exit.

The recorded times will be used to calculate salaries based on the hourly rate or scale
applicable to the grade of that particular employee. Such systems can be used together
with the electronic salary payment system such as the Paynet from Tradanet.

Hospitals and surgeries

Computers are part of medical technology and mainly used in areas such as
monitoring, diagnosis, pharmacy, laboratories, simulations, surgery etc.
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Diagnostic systems
Collect data and identify the cause of illness basing on symptoms and recommend
medication and treatment. A good example is the use of expert system called MYCIN
that diagnose bacterial blood disease and then recommend appropriate antibiotic
therapy for patients.

Monitoring systems
Are systems designed to monitor critically ill patients or premature babies. Some
biosensors connected to the computer are attached to the patient for tracking and
recording vital signs such as:

 heart beat(pulse rate)

 blood pressure
 brain activity
 temperature
 respiration

The biosensors will transmit readings to the central computer should the situation go
beyond a critical warning level and :

 issue a warning on the computer display for nurses on standby

 sound a warning siren, beep or sound to alert medical staff
 flash a light to draw attention of medical staff

Advantages of computers in hospitals

 consistent and constant supervision

 relieves nurses to do other jobs
 one computer can monitor several patients at the same time
 computers can monitor delicate and vital signs like brain activity which
ordinary humans cannot do

Disadvantages (limitations) of computers in monitoring patients

 cannot administer drugs as humans

 cannot perform physiotherapy
 cannot bath patients or make beds
 cannot comfort patients or relatives

Improvements that can be done to monitoring systems

 to clone more data from health experts in view of new disease complications
 to administer drugs or oxygen to patients

Surgery systems
Computers are now used to control laser light that can be used instead of the
surgeon’s scapel for performing delicate operations. Using such equipment, an eye
surgeon can cut and reshape the lens of the patient’s eye thereby correcting sight
defects.

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Laboratory systems
Computers are used to perform medical imaging i.e. computerized scanning
equipment is used to produce 3-dimensional colour images inside the body which is
used to observe the actual living chemical processes during research. This is a further
development to the traditional x-ray.

Prosthetics systems
Prosthesis refers to the replacement and substitution of limbs and other organs by
artificial aids to correct and aid physical defects.

Common examples of prosthetics include eye glasses, dental bridges and artificial
limbs. Computers are used to design and test artificial devices for humans e.g. a
computer can be used to design a hip joint that can be surgically implanted to replace
defective joints.

Other computer uses in hospitals

Stock control
For hospital blood stocks, food stocks, drug stocks etc

Booking system
For out-patients and in-patients to see the doctor

Personnel records
For keeping and management of employee records

Data logging
Recording patients’ medical data over some time for later analysis

19
 Application of computers in industry, technical and scientific uses

Simulation (Virtual Reality Technique)

Is studying the behaviour of a system from its model e.g. flight simulation. In flight
simulation example, a computer is used to fly a plane.

Flight simulators are used to train pilots where the inside has all the controls found in
a plane and looks like a real inside of a plane but in reality it will be an artificial room
on computer-controlled and operated hydraulic supports.

The flight simulators has cock pit windows like a plane. The simulator produces thrust
and noise on take off and landing that gives trainee pilots a live experience of a plane.

Advantages of simulation
 cheaper since not the actual expensive planes or material is used
 if an accident occurs, no-one is hurt or injured
 all possible situations are simulated whether dangerous or not
 emergency reactions can also be simulated without any harm to the people

The concept of simulation gives engineers a better appreciation and prediction of what
will happen in real life situation from a model of that system.

Other application areas of simulation

 design and road testing of cars
 design and weight testing of bridges

Model
Is a sequence of ideas that attempt to represent a process realistically. At some stage
these ideas are expressed mathematically as a set or collection of equations.

Accuracy of the model is limited by:

 human understanding or knowledge of the process being modeled

 time available to produce the model
 availability of input data and how quickly results are required

Modeling
Is representing a process using a series of mathematical ideas that approximate how
the real process behaves. Ideally the approximation should be very close to the actual
process.

NOTE: see Information Systems For You - for further modeling

A model is a small replica of a system which shares the same qualities and
resemblance with the actual system or object in order to study its various features.

An example is where engineers, when designing a bridge, would first construct a model
of the bridge and then study:

 effects of stress
 various loading conditions

20
The idea of modeling is to make one have real or tangible appreciation and
understanding of the real object or system.

NB. Some models can be bigger than the actual object or system e.g. molecular
structure models.

Weather forecasting
Meteorologists and scientists from various weather stations around the world get
weather data such as:

 Air pressure
 Temperature
 Humidity
 Wind speed
 Cloud cover
 Sunshine

from world wide network of space satellites, air planes and ground stations. These
measurements are then entered into a mathematical weather model which then makes
complex calculations to come up with the weather reports.

Weather forecasting uses the concept of simulation and modeling i.e. predicting the
weather by studying a mathematical weather model.

Inputs to the system

Measurements of weather data such as air pressure, humidity, temperature etc

Processing
Measurements of weather data are fed into a mathematical computer weather model
which will compute the equations and come up with a forecast.

Output from the system

Weather forecast or report for a given place and period

CAD(Computer-Aided Design)
Refers to the integration of computers and graphics software to automate the
engineering design process.

NOTE: see GCE Computer Studies & Information Systems – for more details

The CAD software records the input data in a database and is able to manipulate
these facts interactively and display the results on the screen. A typical CAD system
consists of the following:

 Powerful Computer processor

 High resolution colour monitor
 Plotter or printer
 Input devices like – keyboard, light pens, graphics tablets

CAD is mainly used in the following areas:

 Structural engineering – designing of bridges, ships and airplanes where stress

analysis is important
21
  Architectural engineering – designing of buildings, towns, specialist rooms etc
 General engineering – electronic, electrical, mechanical and automotive – for
designing of motor vehicles, circuit boards etc.

Inputs to the system

System model in graphic or numeric form

Processing
Generating and interactive manipulation of engineering equations to come up with
stress equations

Output from the system

Strength and behaviour characteristics of the model

CAM(Computer-Aided Manufacture)
Is basically automated manufacturing process where computers are used to regulate
and monitor the production process.
CAM use some industrial robots or computer-controlled sensors for detecting:

 Excessive heat
 Faults
 Acceleration forces

CADM(Computer-Aided Design & Manufacture)

Is a combination of CAD and CAM systems i.e. use of computers in automating the
design and manufacturing process.

CADMT(Computer-Aided Design, Manufacturing & Testing)

Is the use of computers in automating the design, manufacturing and testing of a
product or system.

Image processing
Computers are used to process images taken by modern digital cameras. These digital
cameras e.g. the Canon have light-sensitive area which is linked to the memory that
can record the image data.

The image data is recorded to a backup medium such as a CD or diskette and then
downloaded onto the computer for processing by copying from the diskette or
connecting the camera to the computer.

The images can be darkened, sharpened, changed colour etc.

NOTE: see Heathcote and Bradley and Marking Scheme 2003 – Cambridge for
further details

22
 Application of computers in monitoring and control systems

Monitoring system

 Example as given under hospital monitoring system

Control system
Is a system in which one or more computers are used to control the operation of some
non-computer equipment usually involving some monitoring and logging of physical
quantities, providing some analysis of performance and allowing some user
interactions.

Feedback and timing are critical considerations and at times. Such control systems
are referred to as real-time control systems.

Control systems can be used in monitoring production machines or quality control

machines where they reject detected substandard products.

Examples of control systems include:

 Oil refining
 Chemical processing
 Integrated traffic control systems

Air traffic control systems

Modern aeroplanes like the Boeing 767 have on board computers which can do most
of the control of the plane when in flight.

Such computers are called autopilots that are able to keep the aeroplane at preset :

 Height
 Speed
 Direction
 Rate of descent

In bad weather conditions, the computers automatically adjusts various controls on

the plane to keep it heading in the right direction and have the correct rate of descent
towards the runway.

NOTE: Add page 244 GCSE Computer Studies

Check on road traffic example

Process control
Is the aspect of using computers to monitor and control or regulate continuous
industrial processes which convert input materials into useful products e.g. steel plant
at ZISCO, oil refineries, chemical plants etc.

Various instruments and sensors are used to monitor the following variables:

 Temperature
 Light
23
  Heat
 pressure

If any abnormalities or extreme conditions are detected, the system can either:

 Automatically direct regulating devices to make adjustments

 Relay a message to the computer screen for engineers on standby
 Flash a warning light
 Sound a siren for the attention of engineers to take action
 Shut the system and close any valves that may be open.

An example of process control system

(Ref An Introduction to Computer Studies by N. Kalicharin)
ABC

Analog tempDigital temp ADC(Analog to Process Controller

Digital Converter) (Microprocessor)

SwitchON/OFF Signal

The above setup is used to heat the liquid in container A and keep it in the range 80 C
to 90C. The procedures would be as follows:

 The switch at D is turned ON and the liquid temperature rises

 When the temperature reaches 90C(maximum), the process controller which
will be taking and monitoring readings from temperature sensors, sends a
signal to turn OFF the switch and the temperature begin to drop.
 When the temperature reaches 80C(minimum), the process controller sends a
signal to turn the switch ON and the temperature starts to rise.
NOTE: Step 2 and 3 are repeated continuously until the system is stopped.

The microprocessor is used for automatic control of temperature. Temperature is an

analog variable(continuous) and cannot be read and manipulated by the
microprocessor, it is converted by the ADC at point B into digital form that is
understood by the microprocessor.

Process control performs 3 basic functions as below:

 Senses conditions
 Compares conditions with preset limits
 Adjust input if necessary

24
Components of process control

 Sensors
for detecting conditions such as heat, light, sound etc

 Microprocessor(Process Controller)
for electronic processing of digital data and sending regulating signals to controlled
devices

 Software
used for holding programmed control procedures i.e. set of instructions which
make a system work e.g. control procedure for water heating process would be:

 Read temperature
 Compare temperature with preset limits
 If temperature is greater than preset temperature THEN SWITCH OFF
 If temperature is less than preset temperature THEN SWITCH ON
 Return to step 1

 Output devices
Depends on the type of system e.g.:

 in a security system, the output device would be a siren

 in a water heating, the output device would be the heating element

 Interconnection devices
Equipment or interfaces which convert data sent down from one device into a form
suitable for the receiving device e.g. the ADC(Analog-to-Digital Conveter)

Uses of process control

 Environmental control
To maintain and regulate environmental conditions such as temperature, light and
noise levels, humidity, water and chemical reactions such as amount of salt and
concentration of chemicals e.g. pH levels in a given liquid

 Production control
To monitor and regulate robots and other manufacturing machines

 Quality control
To detect and reject any substandard products from the production line

 Security control
To detect intruders tempering with equipment such as locks, safes, doors etc.

Other terms in process control

Feedback
Output from a process which is used to modify its input e.g. sensors sent back
readings to the microprocessor which in turn send regulating signals to take
appropriate actions.

There are two types of feedback as below:

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  Positive feedback
Which leads to an increase in the output

 Negative feedback
Which leads to a decrease in the output

Closed loop control systems

Has automatic feedback i.e. the process controller takes necessary action to keep the
process variable in the desired range e.g. by automatic switching ON and OFF.

Open loop control systems

Has no automatic feedback, in this system the process controller only indicates
actions to be taken by human operators on standby e.g. a message can be relayed on
screen for engineers or personnel on standby to “turn OFF, CLOSE valves etc”.

Process variable
Any physical quantity that can vary e.g. temperature, pressure level of a liquid in a
pipe or tank

Process controller
Microprocessor which ensure that the process variable e.g. temperature, stays within
the preset range.

Activator(final control element)

Is the component used by the process controller to control the process variable e.g. the
switch or valve to control rate of gas or liquid flow.

Nuclear power station control

Another example of automated system is found at a nuclear power plant where in the
event of an accident, many automated steps take place such as:

 Shutting down pumps

 Closing down valves
 Injecting emergency coolant

26
 Application of computers in automation and robotics

Automation (aka microelectronics)

Refers to the use of microprocessor to control electrical and electronic gadgets in
performing a single task.

A microprocessor is a single microchip with all the elements of the CPU. It can also be
defined as a processor on a silicon chip with circuits imprinted on a small wafer of a
silicon chip.

At home, the following are examples of automated gadgets.

(a) Microwave cookers
(b) Washing machines
(c) Burglar alarms
(d) Central Heating System
(e) Telephone
(f) Modern cars (car braking and fuel injection system)
(g) Cameras
(h) Digital watches

Explained application examples of automation

(a) Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)

Is a microprocessor controlled system in which if the driver applies some brakes on
speeding car, the sensors will detect when the wheels are at a point of locking and
send a signal to the in-built microprocessor which will send a signal to reduce braking
pressure thus prevent wheels from locking which causes skidding and dangerous
accidents.

(b) Automatic fuel injection system

Is another microprocessor-controlled system in which the microprocessor monitors
through several sensors the engine performance? It displays the amount of fuel being
used in addition to speed, mileage, fuel level etc. However this applies to modern cars
such as the BMW 7 series, which also signals when the engine requires some
servicing.

(c) Microwave oven or cooker

Is used to cook food quickly by using waves (similar to radio waves) to heat the food.
(see page 50 – Computer Studies Through Applications by Kennewell et al). Some
function by switching on a microwave unit on for a sufficient time to either defreeze or
cook food. Modern cookers have some sensors attached to the microprocessor for
detecting:
 Weight of food
 Temperature of food
By continuously monitoring the sensor readings and referring or comparing them to
programmed in-built database of food types, the microprocessor can determine the
time needed to cook or defreeze food. Some microwave cookers have additional sensors
to detect:

 Amount of steam produced and

 Amount of alcohol produced

27
A microwave may be programmed as follows:

IF a temperature in the food indicates the food is cooked

OR the time set on the oven clock is reached
THEN microwaves are not produced.
Below is the diagram and truth table for the circuit that controls the microwaves.

Food cooked Time up Microwaves produced

0(NO) 0(NO) 1(YES)
0(NO) 1(YES) 0(NO)
1(YES) 0(NO) 0(NO)
1(YES) 1(YES) 0(NO)

Such a system uses an OR logic gate which produces a 0(zero) if one or both of the
inputs is 0(zero) else output is 1. (See page 44-51 for application of logic gates from
Computer Studies Through Applications by Kennewell et al.)

(d) Washing machines

An automatic washing machine makes use of a microprocessor which stores details of
many types of washing ‘cycles’ or programs such as filling the machine with hot water,
washing for 5 minutes, emptying, rinsing in cold water for 5 minutes, emptying, and
spinning for 2 minutes. These cycles are often called programs consisting of a set of
instructions are preprogrammed. The user would normally do the following:
 Open the door
 Choose hot or cold water
 Open and close valves(to let water in and out)
 Switch on and off the heater
 Start and stop the drum rotating
 Change the speed of rotation

Example of washing machine display panel. NOTE: Not necessary to draw.

COTTON LINEN TYPE OF WASH STATE

Whites Normal Pre-wash

Fast coloured Economy Wash

Non-fast coloured Heavy Rinse

Spin only Dry

Drain

Start and door lock

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 (e) Auto-focus camera
Such cameras are fitted with several sensors that send data to an in-built
microprocessor that makes calculations and necessary adjustments on the best way of
getting the picture wanted.

During the instant when one presses the exposure button, a high frequency sound is
sent from the camera to the subject and back to the receiver on the camera. The
microprocessor measures the time taken by the high frequency sound to return and
then calculate the distance and thereafter set the focus accordingly. To set the
exposure, the photocell is used to measure the intensity of light and thereafter the
microprocessor sets the proper exposure. The microprocessor is also used to adjust
the opening of the lens, and better still some modern cameras have a predictive focus
technique to focus and take pictures of fast-moving objects such as running animals
or athletes.

Features found on a microprocessor-controlled camera and not on an ordinary

camera

 auto-focus
 auto-flash
 auto-zoom

(f) Burglar alarms

Have a number of sensors that are linked and continually monitored by a
microprocessor to determine for a change in state of motion or position of device. The
sensors normally detect:
 Movement of a person (using proximity sensors)
 Opening of windows or doors
 breaking of laser light beam being sent out by an light emitting diode and
sensed by a sensor on the other end
When such changes are detected, an alarm may be ringed or if the system is
connected to a telephone line a message may be relayed to the police.

(g) Central heating system

Without using electronic devices, people often use gas, oil and solid fuel to heat water
that flows through radiators or to heat air which is then blown into each room.
However with the development of microelectronic controllers, air and hot water
temperature may be kept within the required level. The central heating system allows
to program the individual times and temperature range for water and air or a
combination of both. The system will turn on the heater that will heat water in boilers
or geysers and regulate it within the specified temperature range.

Below is an example of controller with a microprocessor, memory and a digital clock:

forward reverse 12:30pm

(Not necessary
to draw) Hot Water Central Heating Clock
On On On
Off Off Off
Once Once Auto
24hrs 24hrs

29
Robotics
Refers to the science, study and use of robot technology.

Robots
Refers to programmable and computer-controlled machines with mechanical arms
used to carryout a variety of jobs especially in engineering and manufacturing fields. A
common example of the application of robots is in automotive engineering where they
are used in car assembly.

NOTE: Android is a robot similar to a human in structure

General structure of an industrial robot

NOTE: Robots come in different structures and the above is a just an example

Methods of operating robots

The processor controlling a robot may be contained in the robot or it may be separate.
If separate, the processor may:
 Be connected by a cable
 Send signals to the robot by radio waves or microwaves
A robot may be programmed:
 By switching the robot into ‘learn’ mode where it logs all sequence of
movements being done by an operator. The computer will then carry out the
activities to perform required task
 By inputting the sequence of operations required as a program

Industrial robot application in car manufacture

In car assembly plants, robots can be used to:
 Fitting windscreens, bonnets, wheels, body sides, doors, bootlid and tailgate
 Automatic body framing
30
  Welding
 Spray painting
 Electrical circuit testing – where probes are attached to each electric circuit to
detect faults
 Leak testing – where a special gas mixed with air is pumped inside the car and
at the testing point, ‘sniffing robots’ are used to sniff around the doors for any
signs of gas
 Road performance testing – where the car is tested to check for suspension,
steering, wheels etc. The car is driven on a computerized ‘rolling road’ which
tests the power output and the braking efficiency

Components of robots

Most industrial robots have the following common components:

(a) Hand (also known as the gripper or end effector component)

Used mainly for lifting and fitting components during manufacturing or production.
The hand is normally designed with known characteristics of the product and can
adapt to the equipment or product accordingly. The hand is normally fitted with
various sensors such as force sensors, proximity sensors, etc that can be used for
more than one activity.

(b) Wrist
Acts as a joint and link between the gripper and the arm. Its main purpose is to direct
and control movement of the gripper.

(c) Arm
Is the mechanical component that is similar in structure to a human arm whose
purpose is to direct the gripper and acts as mechanical lever for lifting up objects in a
production line.

(d) Sensor
Take the form of electrical or optical devices and fitted on various parts of the robot to
obtain necessary data that will be used to control the robot operations. Its main
function is to collect data from the robot operating environment and send the data as
signals to the microprocessor which will then send regulating or control signals to
various robot components.

(e) Actuators (aka power supply)

Are motors that create motion in robots by powering them using either electrical
power, pneumatic power(use of compressed air pressure below 10 bars) or hydraulic
power(use of fluid pressure).

(f) Limbs(aka stand)

Are mechanical support stands on which the arm and gripper are mounted on and its
main function is to act as limbs for the robot on which it stands.

(g) controller or microprocessor (aka the robot ‘brain’ )

Is the unit responsible for processing data signals received from various sensors and
sending out control or regulating signals to the arm and gripper. At times it can be a
simple machine with a fixed program and in advanced robots it can be a full
programmable digital microcomputer.

31
Classification of robots

(a) Manual handling device – simplest form of robot usually controlled and
operated by a human operator
(b) Fixed sequence robot – handling device which follows a fixed sequence of stages
in carrying out a programmed task and usually its difficult tomodify
(c) Variable sequence robot – almost same as fixed sequence except that the stages
can modified easily
(d) Playback robot – such robots study and record manual task operations being
done by a human operator and the information can then be recalled enabling
the robot to do the task in automatic mode
(e) Numerical control robot – has a facility that allows the human operator to
supply the robot with a movement program rather than teaching it the task
manually
(f) Intelligent robot – has a means to understand its environment and ability to
successfully complete a task despite changes in surrounding conditions.

Advantages of robots
(a) Can work in dangerous conditions without any harm e.g. in diffusing bombs,
undersea exploration, on other planets, areas with high radioactive material, or
where dangerous gases are found such as in Nuclear Power Plants
(b) Can be programmed to do several different tasks unlike other automated tasks
that are dedicated to one specialist task e.g. washing machine
(c) Can work 24 hours a day untiringly
(d) Can work in extreme conditions not suitable for humans e.g. in areas where
there is extreme heat, cold or noise that can damage human ear drums etc.
(e) Reduce labour costs thus production costs becomes lower
(f) Consistency in quality of work unlike humans where there is variation
(g) Increased productivity due to speed at which they perform work
(h) Can perform repetitive tasks without any boredom or fatigue

Disadvantages of robots
(a) Can replace some workers thus it leads to loss of jobs
(b) Can produce fault or wrong products if wrongly programmed as it can not
operate on normal reasoning or common sense
(c) Robots are expensive to buy
(d) Some robots need highly skilled and trained engineers to operate and maintain
them
(e) Robots are not as versatile as people i.e. they can only do one particular
operation they have been programmed for at a time unless reprogrammed

For Case Study on robots see:

Information Technology at Work by Dick Davies
An introduction to Robot Technology by P. Coiffet and M. Chirouze

32
 Application of computers in Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Expert Systems(ES)

Artificial Intelligence
The science and concept of using computers to solve problems and make decisions
that would normally be done by intelligent human beings. A good example is the use of
computers to play master level chess beating some of the best human chess players.
The program has a number of programmed moves that it would make if the opponent
makes a move.

The reality is computers are not intelligent but are programmed to make a series of
moves in response to moves made by their opponents. It is merely their speed and
ability to access huge amounts of stored data which make them appear intelligent. AI
has led to the development of commercial products(systems) called Expert Systems.

Expert System(ES) (aka knowledge-based systems)

Is a computer system which is able to draw reasoned conclusions from a body of
knowledge in a particular field, and communicate to the user the line of reasoning by
which it has reached a conclusion. It is a specialized computer package that
manipulate information at the level of a human expert in a particular field. It performs
functions that can be done by a human expert in a particular field by giving reasoned
advise e.g. in health, mining, management, marketing, law, chemistry etc.

ES simply simulate the knowledge and experience of human experts. ES are

programmed to produce the same solution that a human expert would produce if
asked to solve the same problem. The concept of ES was first employed in research
done at Stanford University in USA in 1960s where an ES called MYCIN which was
designed to perform medical diagnosis of infectious blood diseases and suggest
possible treatments.

Components of an Expert System

An ES has three main components as below:

 User interface
Point of interaction between the user and the system in form of dialogue boxes which
asks the user to enter inputs and the system supply the output through that same
point. The ES has a facility called justifier which enables the user to ask the system
for its line of reasoning that it has used to reach its conclusion and recommendation.

 Inference engine(processor)
Searches, matches, reasons and make decisions from the facts and rules in the
knowledge base to give a solution. It uses the following approaches:

 Logical deduction
 Reasoning by analog
 Procedural reasoning(use of mathematical models/steps)

 Knowledge base
Contains rules, details and facts about a particular field. These are cloned from one or
more highly qualified and experienced experts in particular fields e.g. medicine. The
human experts are interviewed by specially trained professionals called knowledge
engineers who would then prepare and enter the data in the knowledge base. Some Es

33
have a built-in feature for ‘learning from experience’ that allows the ES to learn and
add to its knowledge base records of its successes (and mistakes at times).

Application of Expert Systems

 Mineral and oil deposit prospecting

An ES called prospector asks the user to enter geological formations of a particular
area such as rock and soil type and then gives advice on the possible mineral deposits
that can be found in that area.

Inputs
Geological data such as rock and soil type

Processing
Draws conclusions from rules and facts using geological data entered and the mineral
data stored in the knowledge base

Output
Possible mineral deposits that can be found in that area

 Medical diagnosis
Various expert systems are used to diagnose diseases and recommend treatment.
Common examples include:

 MYCIN : for diagnosing infectious diseases

 CASNET : for diagnosing infectious diseases
 INTERNIST : a more general medical package for diagnosing various diseases

Inputs
Signs and symptoms of the patient

Processing
Draws conclusions from rules and facts using patient’s symptoms entered and the
health data stored in the knowledge base

Output
Disease infection, treatment and medication recommendations

Case study: Mycin

The body of medical knowledge is stored in a form which includes a certainty value.
This is a number in the range –1 to +1, where –1 means negative association and +1
means definite positive association. A value near zero means no correlation is known
e.g.

AIDS HTLV3 1.0

means that the virus HTLV 3 is associated with the disease AIDS with a certainity
factor of 1.0. The knowledge is processed by a set of production rules of the form:

IF <condition> THEN <action>.

At the start of the diagnosis, many of the items of knowledge are incomplete, or
certainty factors in them are near zero. During a diagnosis, additional knowledge is
accumulated and certainty factors move towards –1 or +1. The physician enters

34
background information and symptoms and is asked to give any other information by
the computer as required. At the end of the diagnosis, conclusions are displayed
together with certainty factors. At any stage, the line of reasoning and intermediate
conclusions may be examined by the physician or doctor.

 Farming
Some ES are used to advise farmers in different regions on the best crop or animal
production to carry out e.g. the e-Hurudza in Zimbabwe.

Inputs
Climatic conditions and soil type in that area

Processing
Draws conclusions from rules and facts using soil and climatic data entered and the
crop and animal data stored in the knowledge base

Output
Best crop and animal production to be carried out in that area e.g. the ES might
advise the farmer the crop type and varieties to grow or the cattle breed to stock in
that region.

Advantages of Expert Systems

 Consistency of work as there will be no variations as in humans
 Suitable for training e.g. junior doctors and nurses can be trained using
medical ES
 Knowledge transfer i.e. experts can be taken to remote areas by use of ES e.g.
where doctors are in short supply, the ES can be used in place of the doctor
 Continuation is possible even after the retirement of human experts
 Can process large volumes of data within seconds giving line of reasoning to the
user that the system has taken to reach certain conclusions.
 ES are much faster than humans

Disadvantages of Expert Systems

 Data in the knowledge base can be limited to expert information of a few human
experts in any particular field
 Only effective in specific areas and cannot compete with human experts in
broad subject domain like general practitioners in medicine
 Some ES such as those used in medicine can not offer human personal touch
to patients e.g. cannot comfort or bath patients.

Other examples of expert systems for other areas

Expert System Knowledge domain Function performed

Concept Management Marketing simulation

Logician Computers Design
PowerPlan Management Financial Planning & Economics
Financial Advisor Management Capital Budgeting

35
 Miscellaneous application of computers

Animation
Is the process of creating a number of images with each slightly different from the
previous one and playing them in rapid succession such that there is an illusion of
movement e.g. in creation of cartoons.

Walter Disney’s early cartoon called Mickey Mouse was done using animation. TV films
and videos use animation technique where several frames are recorded and played so
fast such that the human eye cannot detect any differences.

The process of creating many individual frames was tedious, slow and required lots of
artists thus in the past the whole process would become expensive. These days
software is now available that allows one to create only two frames the first and the
last and then the computer will create a sequence of frames between the starting and
finishing frame if the user enters the series of frames needed.

Animation programs have tools for:

 creating first and last frame
 adding or deleting frames
 adding speech or sound

Music
Nowadays musicians are using a special type of computer program called
MIDI(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) which permits a computer to control
synthesizers, allowing notes to be composed, edited, performed and mixed using a
computer.

MIDI also controls recording, sound processing equipment in studios and theatrical
lighting. Computers can also be used to play audio CDs.

Games
Most computer games were developed recently and makes use of simulation where a
computer uses graphics to simulate an action such as driving a car or flying a plane.
Other examples of computer games are: flipper, chess, bow and arrow and hand held
Nintendo.

Education
Computers are used in educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities
for educational purposes like learning computer science and other subjects like
maths, science, engineering etc and other functions like budgeting, inventory control
etc.

(a) Computer-Based learning(CBL)

Is a system in which computers are used as tools or aids for the learning process
especially when learning other subjects as below:
 use of spreadsheets templates in creating sample business documents like
invoices, orders, statements etc and creating graphs and calculations in
mathematics
 simulation of science experiments especially the school has limited resources or
where the experiment involves chemicals which are too dangerous for the
students or too expensive for the school
36
  use of spell and grammar checker in word processing programs to learn English
language

(b) Computer-Aided Instruction(CAI)

Is a system in which a computer is used to assume the role of a teacher who possess
knowledge that the student must acquire. This is done in form of a tutorial dialogue
which presents information then ask questions and the computer controls the flow of
the lesson.

(c) Computer-Assisted Testing(CAT)

Is a system in which computers are used to test and evaluate what the pupils have
learned by asking various questions on the topic presented.

(d) Computer-Aided Learning(CAL)

Is a more general approach to the use of computers in education in an interactive way.
NOTE: all methods above can simply be referred to as CAL.

Example of experiment simulation in science

studying the graph of liquid temperature at various temperatures

CAL techniques normally include:

 multiple choice questions
 drill and practice
 simulation
 educational games
 problem-solving tutorials

37
Advantages of CAL
(a) gives immediate and individual feedback on exercises presented
(b) can vary pace of teaching or training to suit individual needs
(c) learning is interactive thus it is more interesting and motivating
(d) never gets tired, bored or annoyed
(e) can be work or be used any time anywhere unlike human teachers or trainers

Disadvantages of CAL
(a) CAL systems are currently expensive
(b) cannot offer any additional explanations besides that programmed
(c) there is no human interaction

38
 Social and economic implications of the use of computers

These are effects on people and organizations and associated directly with application
of computers and effects to the society in general.

Social implications

 Deskilling
The replacement of skilled and semi-skilled labour by micro-processor controlled
systems in manufacturing

 Electronic scabbing
A process that allows managers to switch word-processing duties from striking
workers in one country to non-striking clerks in another

 Strike maximization
A situation where workers or trade unions are able to maximize the strike impact
by selecting computing staff for strike action

 Pornography
Distribution and viewing of pornographic material on digital CDs and on the
Internet

Economic implications for using computers

 Cost
Computers cost considerable amount of money for purchasing, maintenance and
consumables hence some small and indigenous companies cannot afford to
purchase and use computers

 Technical manpower
The introduction of computers requires technically competent and qualified
personnel to use and run the computers

Economic reasons for using computers

 Greater productivity
Enabled through new technology and better working conditions

 Efficient 24-hour non-stop machines

Ability of computers to work 24 hours a day without rest, boredom, fatigue and
variation

 High speed data processors

Computers can process data at electronic speeds of microseconds or nanoseconds
thus enabling instant retrieval of reports necessary for immediate decision-making.

Computer crime

39
The introduction of computers led to a number of computer-related crimes with the
most common ones being as stated below:

 Hacking – the illegal gaining of access to a private computer system by breaking

passwords and other security systems. After gaining access, the computer
hacker can do any of the following, copy or download files, alter data, delete
data, change access password, disable security system etc
 Software piracy – the illegal copying and distribution of software. This also
involves installation of pirated software
 Creating and spreading virus – a virus is a program that copies and attaches
itself to other programs
 Electronic fraud – mainly consists of:
o mysterious ‘phantom’ withdrawals on ATMs
o transferring funds to dummy accounts which is later on withdrawn
o altering financial and accounting figures on the computer system to
cover up misappropriation of funds
 hardware theft – theft of actual computers and related peripherals
 deliberate and intentional alteration of information on the computer in order to
commit or cover up crime

40
 DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION (LAWS)

The development and widespread use of computers led to the some computer-related
problems as detailed above and because of such problems, laws were passed in order
to curb some of the problems.

Data Protection Act (1984)

Was passed in order to enforce privacy and confidentiality of personal data held on
company and other government computers.
This act laid out the following:
(a) any company or person who holds personal data must be registered with the
data protection registrar
(b) People have the right to inspect data held on them and have errors corrected if
noted
(c) Data must be kept confidential and used for the purpose it was collected for e.g.
patients’ data on a private sugery must be used for medical purposes only and
not other uses such as marketing of the surgery
(d) If data is to be used for something else, then the registrar must be notified
(e) Data on living people must be factual and accurate
(f) Personal data must be obtained and processed fairly and legally
(g) Personal data must be protected by proper security systems

Main three exceptions of the above Act are:

(a) No public access to crime-related data held on police computer files
(b) No public access to Government tax-related data held by National Revenue
Authorities e.g. ZIMRA
(c) No public access to Government data if one is considered to be a terrorist

Failure to comply with the above Act will lead to:

(a) Deregistration of the company
(b) Prosecution i.e. jail term or fine
(c) Prohibition from storing personal data

NOTE: Personal data of individuals can be held on different databases such as:
 National Social Security Authority
 Electronic Voter Register
 Banks’ database
 Credit shops’ database
 Licensing databases for TV, radio and drivers etc
 Hospitals and doctors’ private surgeries

Copyright Designs & Patents Act (1988)

Was passed as a measure of curbing software piracy and under this act, it is illegal to:

(a) Copy software for any purpose other than that specified in the licence
(b) Load and install pirated software
(c) Distribute pirated software electronically whether on the Internet or other
networks

41
NOTE: under this act, software developers are protected for 70 years from the date of
software release.

Computer Misuse Act(1990)

Was passed as a measure of curbing computer hacking and spreading of viruses
which was fast spreading. Under this act, it is illegal to:

(a) Create and distribute viruses

(b) Gain access on private computer systems illegally by any means e.g. by
hacking.
(c) Load and view pornographic material on the computer or from the Internet

DATA SECURITY, PRIVACY AND INTEGRITY

Data security

Is keeping data security safe from the various hazards to which it may be subjected
such as:

 Natural hazards such as fire, floods, excessive heat

 Illegal access by hackers
 Deliberate corruption or destruction of data by malicious or terrorist acts
 Accidental deliberation of data by hardware failure, computer operators or
clerks

Deliberate data alteration for purposes of fraud can be as a result of hackers who may
be working from outside or in conjunction with some inside employees.

Computer security
Is concerned with taking care of computer hardware, software and data .

Methods of keeping data secure from various security problems

Security problem Method

Hardware theft  Keeping computers under lock and key
 Keyboard lock
 CPU lock (these prevent switching on)
 Alarmed circuits
Excessive heat, humidity and Air conditioner to regulate temperature and keep it
dust within acceptable levels
Fire (may break as a result of Use of fireproof cabinets (for backup media and
fault wiring or overloaded server at times
circuits)
Water Use of fireproof cabinets (for backup media and
server at times)
Wire tapping, illegal access  Passwords and access codes
 log file to record attempted login attempts
 data encryption on networks

42
Accidental destruction Backup using file generations
Virus Use of up-to-date anti-virus software
Unauthorized entry into  Biometric identification i.e. fingerprint
computer rooms recognition techniques, voice recognition and
face recognition
 Electronic cards or badges(aka access cards)

Note:
 file generations refers to the successive versions of backup files using the
grandfather-father-son concept.
 Encryption is the coding or scrambling of data from ordinary format called
plaintext to a coded format called ciphertext so as obscure it’s meaning to anyone
who is not the intended recipient of that information.

Example of encrypting data

There are many ways of data encryption and the following is an example where letters
are arranged in a grid row by row and read out column by column e.g. ‘see you tonight
at 8’ could be written as:

SEE.Y
OU.TO
NIGHT
.AT.8

The above message could be sent as : SON.EUIAE.GT.TH.YOT8

There should be only 4 rows and any number of columns.

The process of retrieving or getting the original message is called decryption or

deciphering. Normally encryption is done by use of cryptographic algorithm and key.

Virus
Is a program that attaches itself to other programs and replicates. Some viruses may
be harmful but others may be harmless but only annoying. Harmful viruses may
delete data or format the hard disk, alter data, disable keyboards or disk drive etc

Examples of viruses are:

 Mellisa
 Ripper
 Jerusalem
 Ping pong
 Data crime

Ways that viruses spread through

 Accessing infected files on diskettes

 Accessing or retrieving infected e-mails
 Accessing infected computers on a network
 Downloading infected software or files on the Internet
 Running demonstration diskettes by software salespersons as they serve a lot of
customers
 Using infected system diskettes of service technicians and engineers

43
Ways of protecting computers against virus attack
 Installing anti-virus programs with shields to scan and inoculate all diskettes
and hard disks e.g. Norton Antivirus, Dr Solomons Toolkit, F-Prot, MacFee etc
 Installing firewall to scan all incoming e-mail traffic and Internet
communications
 Disallowing all outside (foreign) diskettes
 Using disc-less work stations
 Buying original software

Methods of keeping data secure from fraudulent use

 Cancellation or deactivating passwords of employees who resigned or transferred

 Use of passwords and access codes for logging into a computer system
 Assigning different access levels for various grades of employees
 Restricting entry to computer rooms by allowing only authorized personnel by
issuing ‘electronic cards’ or badges with coded data
 Use of security software together with log file which will record terminal activity
 Careful vetting of prospective employees

Data integrity
Is the correctness of data when it enters or leaves the system. Data may become
incorrect, corrupt as a result of one of the following actions:

 Typing errors especially transposition of figures

 Operating procedure error e.g. duplication of data
 Viruses which may alter or delete some data
 Transmission errors especially interference or noise in a transmission link

Data privacy
Is keeping sensitive, confidential or personal data secure from illegal access by
persons who are not entitled to that information. Normally strict passwords are used
to keep records or documents private.

The right to privacy is a fundamental human right thus people do not want their
personal records or data stored on computers to be accessed or disclosed to anyone
without their consent.

Various computer laws or Legislation has been put in place to enforce the issue of data
privacy.

44
 Changes in the working environment and development of new products

Telecommuting (aka teleworking)

Is a system in which workers work from home or other remote sites and then use
computer and telecommunications network to submit their work.

Telecommuting uses a direct connection or dial-up networking in which the worker

connects his laptop or home computer to a telephone and then dial up the work place
number, if the line is free then a connection is made. The worker will then be able to
download data from the work place’s main computer or upload data to the work
place’s computers.

Normally telecommuting is used by the following:

 Business executives(directors) on business trips
 Sales and marketing personnel on away trips
 News reporters from various parts of the country or world
 Disabled people who cannot travel regularly

Advantages of telecommuting to the company

(a) No need to buy or rent expensive offices since people work from home
(b)
(c)

Disadvantages of telecommuting to the company

(a) Expensive as each worker needs a laptop or home computer
(b) Difficult to monitor and supervise workers
(c) Not possible to produce up-to-date reports as some workers may not submit
data in time
(d) Data can be lost or distorted during transmission
(e) Workers may fail to submit their work if telephone lines are busy or
down(unless if they use a dedicated or leased line)

Advantages of telecommuting to the worker

(a) No traveling expenses to the office or work place as work is submitted over a
telephone
(b) No traveling stress due to transport problems
(c) Can work under relaxed home environment
(d) Can have more time with family and friends

Disadvantages of telecommuting to the worker

(a) May fail to submit work if telephone line is busy or down
(b) Data can be lost or become corrupt during transmission
(c) Difficult to discuss work problems with other workmates
(d) Poor telephone lines or weak signal reception can cause problems or errors
(e) Low battery power on laptops may result in no transmission

Special hardware needed for telecommuting

(a) Modem
(b) Telephone
(c) Fax
(d) Video camera or web cam
45
(e) Answering machine
(f) Laptop or home PC

46
Macro (Ref: Intermediate Information Technology GNVQ by S. Chacko et al)
Is a set or sequence of recorded button presses, keystrokes, commands, menu
selections and instructions that can be replayed with one single short key code.

When the macro is replayed, all the actions are repeated as if you were carrying them
out, but much faster and more accurately.

Advantages and/or purpose of macros

 Reduce input errors
 Speed up processing thus increasing efficiency
 Standardize procedures thus things are done the same way
 eliminates frequent retyping
 save time by replacing frequently used, sometimes lengthy, series of strokes
with shorter versions.
 User friendly i.e. enables users who are unfamiliar with a program to play
back sets of instructions prerecorded by someone knowledgeable with the
application.

Uses of macros
 Replace repetitive keystroke sequences
 Create templates by setting page attributes and layout
 Set defaults within software
 Perform automatic calculations

Expansion and/or explanations of the above uses of macros

 To replace a repetitive sequence of keystrokes, button presses or text entry

 Create templates for spreadsheets or documents in-order to standardize them
e.g. the following template macro

To :
From :
Date :
Ref :
Subject :

 Set defaults within the application software e.g. font type and size are already
set when you start MS Office Applications. Other defaults that can be set are:

 Screen display options

 Printing options
 Saving options
 Measurement units

 Perform automatic calculations e.g. when preparing invoices, a macro can be

used to automatically calculate amount owing, discounts and/or VAT, and
macros can also be used sort data in ascending or descending order.

Icons for printing, saving etc are simple examples of macros in the sense that they
represent a series of steps taken when using the menu bar to click on File, select
Print, etc thus they are macros themselves because they are a quicker alternative to
selecting commands. However macros can be recorded to carry out more complex
macros.

47
Macros are similar to functions in that they can take arguments and in that they are
calls to lengthier sets of instructions.

However, unlike functions, however, macros are replaced by the actual instructions
they represent when the program is prepared for execution; function instructions are
copied into a program only once.

Designing a macro
It is important to plan the design of a macro by producing a specification which
include:

 Software to be used
In most software packages, macro recording and playing is found under Tools or
Utilities menu)
 Purpose of macro
 Uses of macro
 Method of execution e.g.
 pressing function key or short-cut keys,
 clicking button icon
 choosing command from a menu
 Embedded data(text or numbers entered into software automatically) e.g.
 Company name and address
 Telephone and fax numbers
 logo
 Layout style (house style for all commercial or individual documents)
 How the macro will be tested e.g. testing the macro using short-cut keys,
selecting menu option or pressing command button.

(see page 100 for an example of macro design specification, Intermediate Information
Technology)

48
 4.2 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE

Is a series of stages or phases that you go through when developing a system from
selecting a topic to review and maintenance?

System
Is a set of interrelated entities which interact in such a way that they act as a whole to
achieve a common goal.

Information system
Structured and organized set of people, procedures and equipment designed to gain
better control of the business by accepting data and processing it to produce
meaningful information that will be used by strategic decision makers at all
management levels.

Reasons for systems development

Generally systems development is trigged or necessary by the following reasons:
(a) Either the current system is manual and needs to be computerized.
(b) The current system has become inadequate and needs to be expanded or
upgraded.

Justification for systems development (computerisation)

(a) Cost savings brought by:
 Reduction in salary
 Greater efficiency in planning reduces unnecessary overtime costs
(b) need to catch up with modern technology
(c) Where there are problems of logical on mathematical complexity
(d) The need for systems that can process large volumes of data
(e) Systems that can process data much faster than humans
(f) Need for improved and up-to-date information.
(g) Where large volumes of data needs repetitive processing

Overview of systems development

In commercial and industrial organizations, the management may decide or initiate a
system development project probably because the current system is manual or has
become inadequate and needs upgrading or expansion.

Under such circumstances, the management appoints a project team led by a project
manager or systems analyst. The management set out the Terms Of Reference (TOR)
specifying project objectives, time and resource limits.

Stages of systems development life cycle

49
Systems development has the following basic stages :

1. Problem definition/identification
2. Feasibility study
3. Investigation(fact-finding)
4. Analysis
5. Design
6. Development (programming/coding)
7. Implementation
8. Reviews and Maintenance

Problem definition stage

This is where a specific area to be computerized is identified eg student registration,
accounting, pay roll, stock control etc.
Projects bounds are identified i.e. parts that can be changed by the project and parts
that are outside its control .

Output of problem definition stage

 Specific topic or area to computerise
 Statement of objectives to be achieved by the proposed system
 Terms of reference stating
a) Time limits i.e. start and completion dates
b) resource limits e.g. funding
c) people expected to be in the project
d) project bounds

Feasibility study stage

Is the initial or preliminary investigation into proposed system to evaluate if its
worthwhile computerizing and to determine if the company will meet all costs of the
project.

The system analyst will make proposals of solutions to the problem which must be
proven feasible (achieavable). The preliminary study may reveal that a new system is
not necessary and the current system is good enough.

There are four types of feasibility studies as below:

Technical feasibility
This is where the technical team establishes whether the organization will be able to
acquire the following:
 Technology required e.g. computers , printers , modems
 Technical expertise is qualified and competent personal to use and manage the
proposed system.
 Will the proposed system meet the organizational objectives

Economic feasibility
Is concerned with consideration of whether the organization will be able to meet the
following costs:
 Development cost
 Running cost
 Equipment purchasing costs

50
Economic feasibility looks as to whether the system will bring about savings
(cost/benefits analysis)

Social Feasibility
Is concerned with the effect on current employees and customers.It looks on whether
the proposed system will lead to:
 redundancy(loss of jobs) or retraining of employees
 retraining of the employees
 redeployment to other non-critical positions

User co-operation is necessary to avoid facing resistance

Operational feasibility
Involves consulting users to see if the proposed system fits into the current operations
and to see if the proposed system satisfy the set objectives.

Output of feasibility stage

Report on findings focusing on:
 estimate costs of the total project development costs
 company position on its ability to complete the project within the time frame,
capacity to fund the project, ability to find qualified and experienced personnel
 new staff and training needed
 cost/benefit analysis
 recommendations

Using the above report, the management will then decide on whether to proceed or
not.

Investigation(fact-finding) stage
Is a detailed or in-depth study of the current system covering:

 input methods and procedures

 data processing methods and procedures
 file storage and organization
 output methods
 data recovery plans

The above which will help the analyst to get a better understanding of the existing
system thus have a better view of areas which needs attention or improvement.

Methods of fact-finding used by the analyst:

Interview
A face-to-face personal discussion between the analyst and users or other persons
involved in the use of the current system in order to establish and verify facts on the
current system.

The interviewer/analyst should observe the following aspects:

 should guide the course of the interview and not inhibit the interviewer’s answers
 should gain co-operation and respect of the interviewee and this involves
maintaining privacy and confidentiality

51
 interview details can be taken by writing short notes or filling in the check list or
tape recording but only after getting interviewee permission.
 the interview should be well planned and consideration given to factors such as
who to interview, when to interview and what to ask etc

In-order for the interviewees to express views freely, interviews should be held in a
private setting

Advantages of the interview method

(a) offsets limitations of the questionnaire

(b) induces the interviewer to reveal any other confidential information that he/she
may not be willing to put in writing as on the questionnaire
(c) allows the interviewer to make a true assessment of the what the user believes
(d) allows pure and free transfer of information because of further probing
(e) allows facts to be clarified by the interviewee

Questionnaires
Is a document with carefully planned questions meant to capture as much information
as possible that may be necessary for the project which will be analysed later on.

Are useful where information is gathered from a number of people and questionnaire.
The analyst should prepare the document ad consider the following aspects:

 It must be simple in design and easy to complete

 Should have clear instructions on how to complete
 Should avoid leading questions to avoid biased responses such as “do you agree
that….”
 Should avoid controversial questions such as “How do you rate your manager’s
ability…” because people would be unwilling to complete such questions for fear of
victimization

Questionnaires should be structured to get both facts and opinions that are necessary
for the system e.g.

Question: “How many students do you register per day?” is a question that calls for a
straight answer(fact)

Question: “What do you think is the reason/cause for high rate of transfer?” is
question that calls for an opinion.

Record inspection(document study)

Is where the analyst goes through system business and other official documents in
order to get a further in sight into the operations of the business.

Such documents include:

 Business or transaction documents such as registration forms, invoices, receipts
 Reports on past investigations
 Procedure manuals for current system

Observation
Is where the analyst studies users of the current system whilst they are in action so as
to get a better understanding of the procedures.

52
Normally the analyst uses participant observation i.e. observing by doing so that there
won’t be a shift in behaviour. Workers normally work much faster and efficiently if
someone is watching them thus the observer may be misled.

The analyst must inform users of the observation and its purpose so that they won’t
mislead him/her in their actions. Notes can be taken by writing or video taping.

Output of the investigation stage

Report with details on:

 facts and opinions of the users using the current system

 various input, processing and output methods currently being used

Systems analysis stage

Is the review of the results of the investigation to document and bring together the
findings of the investigation.
The results are organized into a systematic manner which enables specification of the
current system. Data is categorized or classified into different groups for easy analysis
and reporting.

The analyst can use any of the following analysis tools:

(a) systems flowchart

(b) program flowchart
(c) data flow diagram(DFD)
(d) decision tree
(e) decision table
(f) pseudocode
(g) data dictionary

Program flowchart
Is pictorial diagram which is used to show the logical structure of the computer
program which is normally written first before the actual program.

The following symbols are used:

Represents start or end of program

Represents a process

Represents input or output

53
 Represents a decision

Example of a program flowchart

A video rental shop has two video hire options. If a customer is a registered member
he/she can borrow videos on account and if a customer is not a registered member
he/she pays cash for videos.

54
 start

Input customer
details

YES
Is
customer
registered

NO

Process cash hire Process account hire

Display results

end

55
Systems flowchart
Is a diagrammatic or pictorial representation of a complete data processing system
showing an overview of all procedures both manual and computerized excluding
details of programs.

Normally it shows the following:

 both clerical(manual) and computerized processes
 storage media e.g. disk, tape etc. used in the system
 input and output peripherals used e.g. keyboard, printer
 files used by the system

see page 307 – Computing by PM Heathcote for an example of systems flowchart

see page 92 – 95 Information Systems For You by Stephen Doyle for examples of
systems flowchart.

Decision tree
Is an analysis tool which has an upside down tree structure which branches outwards
depending on options available. It presents information in a much clearer manner.

Example of a decision tree

A video rental shop has a discount policy as follows:

 members who hire 3 or more videos get 15% discount

 members who hire less than 3 videos get 10% discount
 non-members who hire 3 or more videos get 5% discount
 non-members who hire less than 3 videos get 0% discount

Discount Policy

Members Non-members

3 or more less than 3 or more less than

videos 3 videos videos 3 videos

15% 10% 5% 0%

56
Decision table
Is another analysis tool that shows actions to be taken for different combinations of
conditions. A decision table has four components(quadrants) as below:

Conditions Condition entries

Actions Action entries

Note:
Conditions : contain all possible conditions
Condition entries : show whether condition is true or false
Actions : contain all possible actions
Action entries : indicate whether action takes place or not

Example of decision tree

In a video rental shop, registration for a new customer depends on various conditions.
The customer has to provide some identification and prove that he/she is not
restricted for hiring videos.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Customer already registered Y Y Y Y N N N N
Customer provide identification Y Y N N Y Y N N
Customer restricted/blacklisted Y N Y N Y N Y N
Register customer - - - - - X - -
Do not register customer X X X X X - X X

Data flow diagrams

Is an analysis tool used to show the flow of data, its transformation and storage in the
system. It shows the following:

 how data enters and leaves the system

 processes that changes data to information
 where data is changed and stored as information

DFDs use the following symbols:

Double square shows an external entity i.e. source of

data e.g customer or recipient e.g. supplier

represents storage of data

_________ Divided rectangle shows a process which transforms

to information.
57
 Arrow shows flow of data

Example of a DFD – (ref Computing by PM Heathcote)

Note: take note of the difference in the symbol for process. See another example on
Page 302

In a student registration system, a student can register by mail for a college by

submitting a registration form with personal details and course details they intend to
take. If course is not fully booked, student is enrolled. The course file and student
master file are updated and a confirmation or regret letter is sent to the applicant.

requested courses
Course File
Student Verify
availability
_________
Course Course
Details Enrolment

Reject Accepted
Regret
letter

Prepare Enrol Student

letter of Student Enrolment
regret _________
________

Acceptance
letter

Student

Data Flow Diagram for student registration

58
Pseudocode(structured English)
Is a series of structured English-like statements which is an intermediate stage
between the programming language and plain ordinary english stating the order in
which operations are performed for solving a problem.

Example of pseudocode
for a video rental shop discount policy explained already:

IF customer is a member THEN

IF customer hires 3 or more videos THEN
Discount is 15%
ELSE
Discount is 10%
ENDIF
IF customer is not a member THEN
IF customer hires 3 or more videos THEN
Discount is 5%
ELSE
Discount is 0%
ENDIF

Data dictionary
Is a database of all data items in the system together with the exact and complete
definition of each item. This is important if meanings of the words are to be used
consistently by various people who deal with the system.

Example of a data dictionary

Data name Num_video_taken Custname

Data type Numeric Character
Meaning Number of videos borrowed Name of the customer who
by the customer borrowed videos
Range 0–5 None
Where found Line 10 input module Line 27 bororow module

Note: layout and structure of data dictionary may vary slightly but generally should
contain information as in the above example.

Output of the analysis stage

Report with mainly:
 problems in the current system
 solutions or alternative methods that can be used
 areas that need to be removed or retained in the proposed system

Design stage
Is where the analyst makes the proposed/new or intended system or application to
meet company data processing objectives using various design tools.

This stage is mainly divided into 5 main components as below:

(a) input design
(b) processing design
(c) output design
59
(d) file and storage design
(e) security systems

Input design(user interface)

This involves the design of a facility that allows the user to communicate and interact
with the system i.e. various platform which allows the user to enter data or receive
information.
It can be in design of one of the following:
 menu – where the user is presented with several options to choose from
 form – where the user enters data into various fields
 question and answer – where the user is asked some questions to which he/she
responds by supplying answers
 specification of suitable input devices

Output design
Usually this part is mainly the design and layout of screen and printer reports.

File and storage design

Is much linked to the input and output and considerations involved in file design
include:
 Methods of file organization and access
 Storage media
 Record layout

Processing design
This aspect involves design of steps that link everything together to produce the
desired output. This involves both computers and clerical procedures starting from
origination or collection of data to distribution of output.

Output of design stage

System specifications with detailed set of documents containing the expected features
of the system such as:

 input forms
 report layouts
 file organization and access methods
 processing methods

Security facility
This is concerned with how data can be protected from intentional(deliberate) or
accidental loss of data be as a result of hacking, viruses, accidental deletion etc.
Passwords and access levels can be designed specifically who should access which
data and activities that he/she can do e.g. a junior clerk can not have right to transfer
company funds or view a file that contains directors salary except the Accountant or
salaries manager.

Development/construction stage
Is the actual process of programming or coding the application designed and specified
in the design stage. This stage is done by programmers using an agreed programming
language such as Visual Basic, C++, COBOL, Pascal etc or 4GL such as MS Access,
dBase etc.

Programmers will also prepare the following documentation or manuals:

60
Technical documentation
manual meant for personnel such as programmers and analysts with details that will
be used for system maintenance, modifying or upgrading and correcting errors. It
consists of :

 program listing
 algorithms
 flowcharts and dataflow diagrams
 file structure
 list of variables (data dictionary)
 instructions on modifying the system

User documentation
manual meant for various levels of end users from data capture clerks to managers
with details on how to operate the system i.e. :

 loading and running the program

 entering data
 processing and producing various reports
 printing reports
 how to interpret errors and handle errors
 help and tutorial facility that takes the user through various facilities available
etc

Operator documentation
manual meant for anyone who concerned with the day to day operation of the
computer system and usually specifies the following:

 details for starting up the system

 backup and retrieving procedures
 backup media used
 data recovery procedures in case of hardware failure
 scanning for and cleaning various etc
 scheduling automatic or timed events

Installation documentation
Is manual with details on :

 Installation and setup procedures

 customising procedures (single user and networked environments)
 hardware requirements
 operating system requirements e.g. Windows 2000
 software registration instructions

Output of development stage

(a) Running or working programs
(b) Full documentation

Implementation stage
Is a stage which involves the set up of hardware and installation of the developed
system. It has 4 main components:

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(a) Setup and installation of computer hardware such as computers and printers
(b) Installation or loading of the new system
(c) Training users on using and operating the new system
(d) Testing of the new system
(e) Changeover or conversion plan

Training users for the new system

This is an important phase because without proper and adequate training for all
system users, the investment will be a waste of money. Training for the users will be at
various levels and will cover some of the aspects below:

Junior or clerical level

 How to enter data into the system

 Printing reports
 Closing the system

Credit or accounts staff

 How to open and close credit accounts for clients

 How to rate a client’s credit worthiness
 Processing a credit sale
 How to make data transfers among accounts

Managers

 How to extract and view various reports

 How to print reports
 How to monitor work being done by other junior personnel

Technical staff e.g. computer operator or systems administrator

 How to install the system

 How to create backups
 How to retrieve data from backups in case of system failure
 How to view log file
 How to schedule events such as virus scanning and backup
 How to shut down the system

System testing
After development the system has to go under live industrial testing to detect and
flaws before being released for use. The testing system may typically consists of the
following stages:

(a) Module testing

All modules which may have been coded independently are tested before being
incorporated into the main system.

(b) Subsystem testing

Involves testing of related modules e.g. in an accounting system, cash book may be
a subsystem involving the following modules: bank and receipts

(c) System testing

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 This is when all modules and subsystems are integrated and tested as a single
system and may detect errors that may be as a result of fault interfacing between
modules. This is when its verified whether its meeting the original specification

(d) Acceptance testing

Is testing the system with the data supplied by the system purchaser and not the
simulated data used by the system developer or programmer. It is the final stage in
testing process before the system is accepted for operational use and involves. The
main objectives are:

 To confirm that the system developed meets the customer specifications or

management specifications
 To test the system in a live industrial setup with realistic volumes of data
 To determine if major changes in operating procedures will be needed.

Types of testing

Alpha testing(aka acceptance testing)

This is testing for specially commissioned software where testing goes on until an
agreement is reached between the developer and the system purchaser or
management that the systems works correctly and fulfils requirements

Beta testing
Testing of new packages developed for commercial release on a large scale where the
system is given to a number of potential users who agree to use the system and report
the problems to the developers. This process help detect errors that developers may
have overlooked.

For both types of testing, if errors are detected, the system is then modified.

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METHODS OF SYSTEMS CHANGEOVER

Direct changeover( conversion)

This is where the old system is discontinued and the new system takes over
immediately.

Advantages of direct changeover are:

 No duplication of duty
 Instant(fast) and efficient
Disadvantage of direct changeover :
 Business can come to a halt if new system has errors that may have been
overlooked

Parallel changeover (conversion)

Is a changeover method in which both the old and the new system are made to operate
alongside each other for sometime until the management or analyst is satisfied with
the performance of the new system.

Advantages of parallel conversion are:

 Errors in the new system can be corrected using known results from the old
system
 In case of new system breaking down, business operations continue without
disruption using the old system

Disadvantage of parallel conversion is:

 Duplication of duty hence more cost to the company in terms of salaries

Phased changeover (conversion)

Is normally used in large systems which can be broken down into modules which are
implemented separately one after the other.

For example, if a hospital has an integrated system with various modules for all its
departments, the project team may first of all introduce the patient registration
module, if runs well then they may introduce the admission module, if it runs well
then they may introduce the pharmacy module, if it runs well they may introduce the
out patient module and so o until all modules have been introduced.

Advantage of phased changeover:

 Control can be exercised as the system is introduced module by module
 Modules with problems can be easily identified and rectified without affecting
business operations

Disadvantage of phased changeover:

 May take time to introduce the full system as it is done module by module

Pilot changeover(conversion)
This is also mainly used in large systems of very large organizations with branches
where the system is first implemented at one of the branches where a trial run or live
testing is done for a period of time.

For example, Edgars Limited might have a trial run of a new system at their Harare
First Street branch and If the system proves to be working well, the system can then
be introduced in other branches across the country.

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Advantages of pilot changeover:
 control can be exercised as the system is introduced by means of trial run at
one branch or site
 problems can be easily identified and rectified without affecting entire group
business operations

Disadvantage of pilot changeover:

 May take time to introduce the system in all branches as it is done branch by
branch

Output of implementation stage

Report on:
 Installation and setup
 Trial runs and live testing of the system
 Staff training
 Conversion plans

Review and maintenance stage

Is an analysis of the new system to see or check if it is meeting the original set
objectives after an agreed period such as one year or six months. In case of problems
the system is modified and if the system is no longer meeting objectives may be due to
business expansion or advances in technology or software, then the problem is
identified and the cycle starts again thus it becomes systems development cycle.

Output of review and maintenance

Report on system performance and any attention or action that may be necessary.

65
 4.3 Problem solution including algorithm design and programming concepts

Introduction to programming concepts

Program
Is a set of computer instructions written in a particular programming language to
perform a specific function.

Examples of programming languages are:

 Visual Basic
 Pascal
 COBOL(Common Business Oriented Language)
 C++
 Java
 LOGO
 LISP
 FORTRAN(Formular Translation)

Key terms in programming

Constants
Are values that do not change during data processing e.g. the Pi = 3.141 can be a
defined constant which maintains that value.

Variable
Are values that change during the process of running the program or data processing
e.g. the average of student mark can change as more marks are added or removed.

Local variables
Are values that are used or known in a particular program or module.

Global variables
Are values normally accessed or used by a number of modules in a program and
normally defined in the main program and not in modules.

Module
Is a set of instructions for performing a specific task which will then be incorporated
into the main program e.g. an accounting system might have the following modules
journal, purchases, sales, cash book etc

Procedures and Functions

Structured programming makes use of procedures and functions. The main program
is the controlling program. Procedures perform specific tasks and functions usually
returns a value e.g. a program that computes student grades basing on marks for
student A, B, and C. The procedure for calculating will calculate the grade for student
A, get the totals and average by calling a function and returning or passing the value
to the main program
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Subroutine
Is a common module used by more than one program e.g. sort, save, search and print

Rogue value (aka sentinel or dummy)

A number or word used to terminate a data input loop e.g. “To end type 99”. The digits
99 is called rogue value.

NOTE: Rogue value terminates data input loop and not the program.

MODULAR PROGRAMMING

Is the breaking down of a large task into small self-contained tasks which can be
developed and tested separately and then incorporated into the main program.

Advantages of modular programming

(a) Errors can be easily tracked and identified

(b) Work is shared amongst different programmers by working on different modules
(c) Large programs can be easily controlled and modified
(d) Adding or deleting of modules to support new developments is easier
(e) Some modules can be standard and be used in different parts of the program
(f) Modules can be tested separately and then incorporated into the main program

Top-down design
Is an orderly approach to programming which gives an overview of a program
structure by breaking down a large task into successively smaller ones until they are
simple enough to be coded as self-contained modules.

An example of a top down design for a student registration program at a school:

S tu d e n t
R e g is tr a tio n
S y s te m

A dd E d it B ro w se B ackup R e p o r ts E x it
R e co rd s R e co rd s R e co rd s R e co rd s

Tape CD P rin te r S c re e n

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Program test data
After a program has been developed it has to go through a rigorous testing process by
all possible values to try and check if all necessary validation checks have been
applied to trap errors. The three types of program test data are:

 Standard data
This is data that is of the correct data type and within the correct range e.g. for the
field Form: digits 2 to 5 would be the standard data. For the field surname: “Moyo”
would an example of standard data.

 Extreme data(aka borderline data)

Is data that is at lower and upper limits of a field or the minimum and maximum
values for a particular field e.g. for the field Form: 1 and 6 are the extreme data entries

 Abnormal data
Is meaningless or nonsensical data for a particular field e.g. where age is required a
name would be an abnormal entry, where a name is required, date would be
abnormal. Data outside the range can also be abnormal e.g. –8 for field of Form is
abnormal.

STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING CONTROL STRUCTURES (BUILDING BLOCKS)

There are three basic programming constructs used to develop a program as below:

Sequence control structure

This is where instructions are executed one after the other in order in which they are
entered. An example is below:

Start
Statement 1
Statement..
End

Selection control structure

Is a decision making structure that offers a number of alternatives or options to
execute if a certain condition is true or false.

Main selection structures are built or developed using the following reserved words:

IF ….. THEN ….ELSE

SELECT CASE ….. END CASE

Assume you have a menu driven program as below with a number of options. The
execution of modules can be controlled using any of the two selection control
structures.

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 System Menu

1. Add records
2. Edit records
3. Print records
4. Quit

Enter Option: (1- 4)

Example of IF ….THEN ….ELSE Example of CASE … END CASE

IF choice = 1 THEN DO CASE

CALL add module CASE 1
ELSEIF choice = 2 THEN DO add module
CALL edit module CASE 2
ELSEIF choice = 3 THEN DO edit module
CALL print module CASE 3
ELSEIF choice = 4 THEN DO print module
CALL exit module CASE 4
ELSE Print “Invalid option” DO quit module
ENDIF END CASE

Advantages of the CASE statement over IF THEN statements

 It is more compact
 It uses less programming statements

An example of a simple IF …THEN … ELSE statement

CLS
INPUT “Enter your age: ”, age%
IF age% > 18 THEN
PRINT “You are an adult”
ELSE PRINT “You are still a minor”
ENDIF

Repetition control structure

This structure allows certain instructions to be repeated a number of times until a
certain condition is true.

The number of repetitions can be known in advance and if the number of repetitions is
not known in advance a rogue value is used to terminate further input.

Examples of repetition control statements are:

 FOR …NEXT
 REPEAT …..UNTIL
 WHILE ….WEND
 DO …. LOOP
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Simplified example of REPEAT …UNTIL

REPEAT
Enter student mark
UNTIL mark = -1

Simplified example of FOR … NEXT statement

FOR counter = 1 to 5
Enter name
NEXT

Simplified example of WHILE … WEND statement

Counter = 0
WHILE counter < 5
Enter name
WEND

Simplified example of DO … LOOP statement

Counter = 0
DO WHILE counter < 10
Enter name
LOOP

DIAGRAMMATIC OVERVIEW OF THE CONTROL STRUCTURES

Sequence structure selection structure Repetition structure

Start/Begin Start/Begin Start/Begin

TRUE
Statement 1

Decisio Decisio
n NO n
Statement 2 conditio conditio

YES FALSE

End Action 1 Action 2

End

End

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 TYPES OF PROGRAM ERRORS

The three most common types of program errors are:

Syntax errors(aka compile errors)

This is an error that come up as a result of violating the instruction format(structure)
e.g. misspelling of reserved words. It causes the program to halt during execution e.g.

Syntax error for an input statement:

Correct : INPUT “Enter name”, name$

Syntax error : INPUT “Enter name”
(does not have the variable to accept the name entry)

Logic errors
These errors violate the program logic and thus produces wrong results even if the
program runs perfectly. Good examples of logic errors are:
 Division by zero
 Wrong formulas e.g. converting 15 metres to centimeters: metres = 15 / 100
(Wrong because, you multiply by 100 not divide)

Runtime errors
These are errors that are detected during program execution. A compiled program can
still produce runtime errors which causes abnormal program termination.

Examples of runtime errors are:

 Reading past end of file

 Trying to delete non-existing records
 Trying to insert an already existing record

NOTE:

A bug is a program error. The process of removing program errors or bugs is called
debugging. The process of following the flow or logic of a program and working out
manually using trace tables is called dry running a program.

Semantic errors
Are errors that violate rules of a programming language.

Add notes from Visual Basic Programming on design and runtime

71
 4.4 Generic software and the organization of data

Generic software
Is general purpose software or packages that can be used in different situations to
accomplish different things e.g. MS Access, MS Word, MS Excel etc.

Database
Is an organized and structured collection of related data files e.g. supplier and
customer files, student and staff files at a school etc

The main objective of the database is to provide up-to-date information in form of

reports for effective control of the business based on facts rather than assumptions. A
database has facility for creating, maintaining and updating records.

Examples of database packages

MS Access 2000 Paradox

DBase IV Interbase
FoxPro Sybase
Informix Oracle

Database models(aka database schema or structure)

There are three basic types of database models:

Relational database
Is a database model where contents of files are connected together by common field
names and data is held in a number of interrelated files.

This model uses tables called relations i.e. arrays of rows and columns of data where
rows are records of individual records and fields are fields of data. Data can be
accessed much faster by random requests through the use of a key field.

A single table of database file is called a flat file. The following is an example of a
relational database model/schema:

Std # Surname Firstname DOB Sex Form Hometown Fees Paid

5A20 Moyo John 12/09/86 M 5 Harare $2 400 000
4B10 Jamu Brendon 15/09/87 M 4 Chinhoyi $3 000 000
4B12 Musonza Chipo 17/10/86 F 4 Harare $1 500 000
5C11 Chiodza Antony 20/08/85 M 5 Mutare $2 400 000
3C00 Munava Totenda 15/02/88 F 3 Gweru $3 500 000

Network database model

The database has a tree structure with links between nodes in all directions and looks
like a web.

Use linked lists idea where links between records are established through the use of
pointers i.e. addresses of related data. Below is the model diagrammatically:

72
 Teacher X Teacher Y Teacher Z

3A 3B 3C 3D 4A 4B 4C 4D

Hierarchical database
Has a top-down or branch arrangement. It takes the form of an inverted tree structure
where the first point is called the root from the main trunk and branches develop.
Example of a hierachical database model diagram is as below:

‘A’ Level Section

Science Dept. Commercial Arts Dept

Biology Chem. Physics History Divinity

Advantages of databases over conventional filing system

(a) minimum redundancy(duplication)
(b) central updating of records
(c) single input system
(d) ability to retrieve routine and ad hoc reports
(e) allows electronic data sorting

Main features of database packages

(a) can search for specific records
(b) can sort data in predetermined order
(c) can perform calculations on numeric fields
(d) can add or delete records and fields
(e) can export data to other related packages
(f) can merge two or more database files
(g) allows designing of forms and reports

Database Management System(DBMS)

Is software that is used to organize and control access to a database and provides an
interface between the user and the database.

Functions of the DBMS

(a) data storage, retrieval and updating
(b) creating and maintenance of the data dictionary
(c) backup and database recovery
(d) security features to be allocated such as user Ids, access levels and passwords
(e) sharing facility

73
DBMS Languages
Use a number of languages to perform some of its functions. Main languages are as
below:

(a) Data Definition/Description Language(DDL)

Is used to model the database by defining the database structure i.e. it is used to
describe the attributes such as record layout, fields and location of files.
The DDL helps the Database Administrator(DBA) to define the logical structure of the
files within the database and construction of data dictionary.

Note:

Database Administrator(DBA)
Is the person in charge of database design, maintenance and overall running of the
database. Duties of the DBA include:

 designing database
 deciding database contents
 deciding storage of data
 deciding backups and recovery procedures

Data dictionary
A description of data items provided by the DDL i.e. ‘data about data’. The
database dictionary normally has details on logical database, physical storage
devices, validation used and recovery procedures.

File manager
Part of the operating system which allows access to data stored on disk and acts
as an interface between data stored on disk and the user.

Logical file
Refers to actual file records

Physical file
Refers to the actual file records when stored on physical storage media.

(b) Data Manipulation Language

Provides set of features that allow modification e.g. inserting or deleting records from a
database file. For security reasons, the DBMS has a facility for record locking where a
record in the process of being updated will be ‘read-only’ to other users or will not be
available to other users during the editing process especially on networked system or
integrated databases.

(c) Query Language

Allows queries or search conditions to be typed and executed. Queries can be done
through the Structured Query Language(SQL) or Data Query Language(DQL).
Structured Query Language may also be referred to as Standard Query Language.

Common Database Terminology

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Character
The smallest unit of data in a database file e.g. a single letter or digit

Field
A column of related data characters in a record e.g. surname, date of birth

Record
A collection of related fields in a database file e.g. details such as student number,
surname, first name, date of birth etc for a single person.

File
A collection of related records e.g. all student details or records make up a student file

Database
A structured and organized collection of related data (files)

Table
Set of related data arranged in rows and columns(NOTE: it is the same thing with file)

The following is an example of a student file at a school:

Std # Surname Firstname DOB Sex Form Hometown Fees Paid

5A20 Moyo John 12/09/86 M 5 Harare $2 400 000
4B10 Jamu Brendon 15/09/87 M 4 Chinhoyi $3 000 000
4B12 Musonza Chipo 17/10/86 F 4 Harare $1 500 000
5C11 Chiodza Antony 20/08/85 M 5 Mutare $2 400 000
3C00 Munava Totenda 15/02/88 F 3 Gweru $3 500 000

Procedures for creating a database file

 open the database package
 create the database structure – specify field names, data types and lengths
 enter validation checks if necessary to trap all input errors e.g. for Form
validation checks would be:
o data type = numeric
o minimum entry = 1
o maximum entry = 6
 save the database structure and validation checks using appropriate name
 enter records
 save records and close the database file

Queries
A query is a search condition used to select specific records from a given database file
e.g. a query to select all form 3 students from a school database file would be:

Form = 3

Procedures for creating queries

 open an existing database file
 activate or set the database to query mode
 enter the query(search condition string)
 run or execute the query to select records wanted

Using the database file above, below are examples of queries to select the following:

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 (a) all girls : Sex = “F”
(b) all students from Harare : Hometown = “Harare”
(c) all form 5 students : Form = 5
(d) all form 5 boys : Sex = “M” AND Form = 5
(e) all boys or those in Form 5 : Sex = “M” OR Form = 5
(f) all students who paid less than $2 400 000 : Fees Paid < 2400000
(g) all those who paid $2.4million or above : Fess Paid >=2400000
(h) all students born before 1 January 1988 : DOB < 01/01/88

NOTE: - The following applies to MS Access 2000 database and may not work in some
database packages.
 for queries using a text(character) data type, use the search string in double
quotes e.g. Surname = “Musonza”
 for queries using a numeric(number) data type, use the signs(<, >, =, <=, >=)
plus digits with no double quotes e.g. Form = 5
 for queries using a date data type, use the signs(<, >, =, <=, >=) plus the date
with no double quotes e.g. DOB > 31/12/88

Primary key
Unique field used to identify a particular record in a database e.g. student number,
bank account number, credit account number etc. In the above database file, the
primary key would be the student number since each student is assigned a different
and unique identification number.

Secondary key
An alternative field used to identify a particular record but not necessarily unique e.g.
surname. Surname cannot be used as a primary key because of its possible for two or
more people to have the same surname.

Processes that can be performed in a database

Appending
This refers to the addition of new records at the end of an existing database file e.g.
adding new comers to a school database file or adding new customers to a customer
database file.

Amending
This refers to modifying existing records when circumstances change e.g. changing the
address of a student if the family moves to some new home.

Deleting
This refers to removing or erasing ‘dead’ records i.e. records which are no longer
necessary to the database file e.g. records of students who have transferred, students
who have finished school or students who have died.

Inserting
This is similar to appending but differs in the sense that with inserting records, you
will be placing new records between specified records and not necessarily at the end of
an existing database file.

Browsing
This refers to viewing, scanning or simply going through records whilst on the screen.

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Displaying
Simply means showing records on the screen without printing them.

Data types in database

There are basically 5 data types in database as below:

(a) text (or character) – this is data made up of letters of the alphabet only e.g.
Kutama College or a combination of letters of the alphabet plus other
characters e.g. 3D.
(b) number (or numeric) - this is data type made up of signed digits 0 to 9
inclusive, with or without a decimal point
(c) date – this is date data type either in short British date format or American
format as dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy. By default, date normally has fixed length
of 8 spaces. May be set to long date format: dd/mm/yyyy or mm/dd/yyyy
(d) logical – this is data type made up of only two possible values either true or
false(normally represented by T for true or F for false(Normally has a fixed
length of 1space).
(e) Currency – for all financial figures with two decimal places
(f) Memo – this data type is normally in alphanumeric form and reserved for items
like address or comments which take more space and cannot be sorted on.(Has
a fixed length of 10 spaces in most database packages)

NOTE: Alphanumeric data type refers to data with a combination of letters plus
digits. In MS Access, if a field contains a mixture of digits, letters or other
characters it automatically becomes text data.

Field name
Is a name that identifies a specific field which should give a rough meaning or idea of
the type of data stored e.g. price, surname, student number etc.

Field length
Is the maximum number of character spaces that a field should carry and normally it
should be long enough to accommodate the longest possible entry in that field.

String
Is a list of keyboard characters e.g. ‘I am in Form 4’. May be referred to as
alphanumeric data.

Fixed and variable length records

Fixed-length records are those with a known length in advance such as date or logical
entries and variable-length records are those whose length cannot be ascertained
before hand such as comments, addresses etc.

Advantages of fixed length records over variable length records

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Spreadsheet
Is an application package made up of a grid or array of cells mainly used for business
calculations.

Examples of spreadsheet packages

(a) MS Excel 2003
(b) Lotus 1.2.3
(c) Quatro Pro
(d) Visicalc
(e) Supercalc V5

Uses of spreadsheet
(a) Financial and cash flow analysis
(b) Creating business plans
(c) Sales forecasting and analysis
(d) Creating business budgets
(e) Preparing financial statements

Advantages of spreadsheets over manual worksheets

(a) Automatic recalculations when an entry changes
(b) Accept and manipulate formulas
(c) Copying formulas thus saving time of writing individual formulas
(d) Can create analysis graphs
(e) Performs calculations much faster that humans
(f) Can accept statistical, mathematical and financial functions

Examples of statistical functions:

SUM AVERAGE MAX MIN etc

Examples of mathematical functions:

EXP(x) PI SQRT(x) SIN(x) etc

Examples of financial functions:

IRR(Internal Rate of Return), NPV(Net Present Value),
SLN(Straight Line Depreciation) etc

Main features of a spreadsheet

(a) Ability to use formulas and calculations
(b) Ability to copy formulas
(c) Inserting or deleting rows and columns
(d) Drawing or creating graphs
(e) ‘what if’ analysis i.e. interrelationships
(f) automatic recalculations where values change
(g) sorting data in ascending or descending order

Common spreadsheet terms

Cell
Is an intersection of a row and column

Cell address (aka cell reference)

Is the identification of a cell by use of its co-ordinates e.g. A4, B7 etc

78
Label
Any textual data made of letters of the alphabet only or combination of both letters
and numbers e.g. headings, titles. Labels cannot be manipulated by formulas are are
left aligned by default.

Value
Any numerical entry i.e. data in form of signed digits 0 to 9 inclusive with or without a
decimal point. Values can be manipulated by formulas and are right aligned by default

Example 1: spreadsheet used to calculate selling price, total sales figures etc.

  A B C D E F G
1 ITEM COST PRICE MARKUP(60%) SELLING PRICE QUANTITY TOTAL COST TOTAL SALES
2              

3 JVC TV $4,500,000.00 =(60/100)*B3 =B3+C3 12 =B3*E3 =D3*E3

4 PHILIPS TV $6,700,000.00 =(60/100)*B4 =B4+C4 5 =B4*E4 =D4*E4

5 JVC VCR $2,300,000.00 =(60/100)*B5 =B5+C5 8 =B5*E5 =D5*E5

6 SHARP TV $6,800,000.00 =(60/100)*B6 =B6+C6 10 =B6*E6 =D6*E6

7 SHARP VCR $2,500,000.00 =(60/100)*B7 =B7+C7 8 =B7*E7 =D7*E7

8              
9 SUBTOTAL           =SUM(G3:G7)
10 VAT(15%)           =(15/100)*G9
11              
12 TOTAL           =G9+G10

Note: For percentage formulas you can also use the following format:

=60% * B3 =60% * B4 =60% * B5 etc

Example 2: Spreadsheet used to calculate net gross salary, deductions and net salary
of employees at a company

A B C D E F G
1 Employee Basic Allowance Overtim Gross PAYE(21%) NET
Salary s e Salary SALARY
2
3 JOHN $500000 $450000 $20000 =SUM(B3:D =21% * E3 =E3-F3
0 0 3)
4 MARK $640000 $600000 $14000 =SUM(B4:D =21% * E4 =E4-F4
0 0 4)
5 SHELLY $410000 $230000 $40000 =SUM(B5:D =21% * E5 =E5-F5
0 0 5)
6 SIMBA $920000 $800000 $23800 =SUM(B6:D =21% * E6 =E6-F6
0 0 6)
7
8 TOTAL =SUM(E3:E =SUM(F3:F
6) 7)
79
 9 AVERAG
E

NOTE: for averages, the formula will take the format:

=Average(B3:B6) etc

Procedures for: (using MS Excel 2000)

80
Word processing
Is the typing of documents using computer technology loaded with specialist word
processing packages such as MS Word 2000. This involves text entry, formatting,
editing and storage.

Word processor
Is a specialist computer or package dedicated and used for only one task of word
processing.

Examples of word processing packages

 MS Word 2003
 Word Perfect 5.1(and 6.0)
 WordStar
 AmiPro
 WordCraft
 Multimate
 Displaywrite

Word processing terms

Document
Is anything that can be typed e.g. letter, memo, report etc

Formatting
Is adding or applying style to documents to improve appearance such as emboldening,
italicizing, underlining, text alignment text rotation and changing font size, type and
colour.

Editing
Is manipulation of documents such as making corrections, deletions, additions or
insertions of text to existing documents.

Title bar
A bar on which the file name of the document appears after saving

Menu bar
A bar that offers options such as ‘File Edit View Insert Format Tools Table Window
Help’

Tool bar B I U
A bar that contains various icons e.g.

Window
An area on which text can be typed and viewed

Advantages of word processing over manual typing

(a) Ability to edit documents on screen without retyping the whole document
(b) Ability to automatically check and correct spellings and grammar using the
spell and grammar checker
(c) Ability to format documents i.e. applying style to improve document appearance
(d) Ability to save, electronically file and retrieve documents
(e) Ability to print many copies from one document
81
 (f) Ability to insert tables, diagrams and pictures

Features of word processing

(a) Formatting – emboldening, italics, underlining etc

(b) Editing – additions, insertions, deletions etc
(c) Search and replace – allows a specified word to be searched in the whole
document and replaced with another one
(d) Mail merge – a facility in which a single standard letter is personalized to many
recipients by importing addresses and other details from a database
(e) Spell checker – for automatically checking and correcting or giving suggestions
for words spelt wrongly and wrong grammar
(f) Tables and pictures – allows tables and pictures to be inserted and modified
(g) Page setup – allows one to set margins and paper size
(h) Word count – an automatic feature that counts the number of words in a
document or paragraph
(i) Thesaurus – gives an alternative word or words with the same meaning as the
selected word
(j) Save – allows a document to be stored, electronically filed and retrieved in
future
(k) Text alignment – allows text or numbers to be aligned to the left, center, right
or justified(aligned on both sides). The four alignments are:
 Left alignment – paragraph lines start at the same position on the left
margin but ending on different points on the right margin
 Right alignment – paragraph lines start at the different positions on the left
margin but ending on same position on the right margin
 Center alignment – text is centred on the middle of the page with equal
distance from both margins of the page
 Justified or full justification – is where text is aligned on both margins i.e.
paragraph lines start and end at the same points.

Common terms in word processing

(a) Page break - a forced end of page which is done by pressing Control and Enter
keys simultaneously
(b) Hard return – is when the cursor(aka blinking underscore) is moved to the next
line before reaching the right margin after pressing Enter key
(c) Soft return – is when the cursor(aka blinking underscore) moves to the next
line automatically after reaching the right margin without pressing Enter key
(d) Widow - part of a sentence left at the bottom of a page if the sentence goes on
to the next page
(e) Orphan - part of a sentence that goes to the next page if the sentence cannot fit
at the end of the previous page
(f) Header – words that are inserted or typed to automatically appear at the top of
every page of a given document
(g) Footer - words that are inserted or typed to automatically appear at the bottom
of every page of a given document
(h) Footnote – text printed to offer an explanation at the end of a page to a word
that appears on that particular page(e.g. in Shakespearan plays)
(i) Endnote - text printed to offer an explanation at the end of a document for
words that have been appearing throughout the document e.g. in some Bibles
(j) Subscript – characters printed slightly below the normal print line e.g. in H 20,
the digit 2 is the subscript

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 (k) Superscript – characters printed slightly above the normal print line e.g. x 2, the
squared(2) is the superscript.
(l) Type face – is the font type i.e. style of font such as Times New Roman,
Bookman Old Style etc
(m) Tab – is short for tabulator stop i.e. one stop jump along the ruler that moves
the cursor by using the tab key
(n) Indentation – is starting the paragraph one or more tab stops inside the default
left margin setting by using the tab key.
(o) Margins – are settings that define the window on which one types text by
marking the top, bottom, left and right margins.

Procedures for: (NOTE: Assuming use of MS Word 2000)

Aligning text(left, center, right or jusitify)

 Highlight or select text
 Click on appropriate icon

Changing font size, colour, type

 Highlight text
 Click on format on the menu bar
 Choose font
 Change font type, size or colour as appropriate
 Click OK

emboldening, italicizing, underlining(formatting)

 Highlight text
 Click on appropriate icon B I U

NOTE: to reverse the action, highlight the text and click on the same icon.

Copy and paste

 Highlight text
 Click on copy icon on the tool bar
 Click on new position where you want the text to be copied to
 Click on paste icon on the tool bar

Cut and paste

 Highlight text
 Click on cut icon on the tool bar
 Click on new position where you want the text to be copied to
 Click on paste icon on the tool bar

Inserting text between two words

 Press ‘Insert’ key to be in insert mode
 Click between the words
 Type the word or words

Inserting tables
 Click where you want the table to appear
 Click on table on the menu bar
 Choose insert table
 Enter the number of columns and rows
 Click OK
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Inserting pictures
 Click on Insert on the menu bar
 Choose picture
 Choose ClipArt
 Select the picture that you want
 Click insert or press enter key

Checking spellings and grammar

 Put the cursor to the top of the document
 Click on Tools on the menu bar
 Choose spelling and grammar

NOTE: Spell checker normally gives the following main options:

(a) Ignore – to leave the spelling as it is without making corrections

(b) Change – to correct the mispelt word with the suggested word given from the
in-built dictionary
(c) Add – to add the word to the in-built dictionary if it doesn’t exist
(d) Cancel – to return to the document without any changes

Search and replace

 Click on edit on the menu bar
 Click on replace and the following dialogue box appears

Find What:

Replace with

Find Next Replace Cancel

NOTE: On Find What, type in the word to be replaced

On Replace With, type in the word to replace the existing one

Inserting page numbers

 Click on insert on the menu bar
 Choose page numbers
 Select appropriate position e.g. top or bottom and appropriate alignment e.g.
enter
 Click OK

Inserting headers and footers

 Click on view on the menu bar
 Choose header and footer
 Type in the header and footer
 Click on close on the pop up menu that appears

Spacing
 Highlight or select text
 Click on format on the menu bar

84
  Choose paragraph
 Choose appropriate spacing e.g. single, one and half, double etc
 Click OK

Mail merging
 Create the standard document
 Click on tools on the menu bar
 Choose mail merge
 Choose create main or standard document
 Choose ‘get data’ option
 Click merge

Inserting bullets and numbering

 Click on format
 Choose bullets and numbering
 Select appropriate bullets or numbering format
 Click OK

Borders and shading

 Click on format on the menu bar
 Choose borders and shading
 Choose appropriate border style or shading intensity
 Click OK

Creating columns
 Highlight paragraph
 Click format on the menu bar
 Choose columns
 Select appropriate column structure
 Click OK

Thesaurus
 Click on tools on the menu bar
 Choose language
 Select thesaurus
 Click OK

Inserting a page break

 Position your cursor where you want the page break
 Press Control and Enter Keys simultaneously

Setting page margins

 Click on file on the menu bar
 Choose page setup
 Modify as appropriate top, bottom, left and right margins
 Click OK

Saving a document
 Click on file on the menu bar
 Click on save
 Type appropriate file name
 Click OK or press enter

85
Printing
 Click on file on the menu bar
 Choose print
 Enter number of copies
 Click OK

Print preview
 Click on print preview icon on the tool bar
 Click close

DTP(Desktop Publishing)
Use of graphics, charting and page make-up software with high quality output in
typesetting, design and producing documents in style e.g. magazines, newspapers,
manuals, posters, brochures and pamphlets.

Application of DTP
 Advertising agents in producing various adverts
 Printing and publishing houses for producing magazines and pamphlets
 Press co-corporations for publishing newspapers e.g. at Zimpapers
 Other private companies or users for producing posters, in-house magazines,
notices etc

DTP Package
Is a graphics, charting and page make-up program with high quality output for
producing documents in style e.g. magazines, newspapers, manuals, posters and
pamphlets.

Examples of DTP packages

 Page maker
 Ventura
 QuarkXpress
 MS Publisher
 Timeworks

Facilities/features of DTP packages

Design and layout

Allows identifying areas on the page to insert columns, text, pictures etc from the
outline of the page

Text
Can either be imported from a word processing package or typed using the DTP
package. Text style can be improved by rotating, enlarging, changing colour etc

Pictures(graphics)
Can be inserted in a DTP package by either:
 Importing from ClipArt gallery(library of various pictures)
 Scanning using a scanner
 Uploading from a digital camera
Borders around graphics can be inserted and can graphics can also be zoomed,
rotated, changed colour etc.

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Columns
Allows division of paragraph on the page to facilitate continuation of text from the
bottom of one column to the top of the next column

Moving around document

Can be done using arrow keys or mouse in order to view or edit the document as
necessary.

Page view
A facility for preview document before printing by viewing scaled down, zoomed or
specified parts of a document

Graphics Packages
Fall basically into the following two categories:

 Painting packages
Are meant for artists or graphic designers for production of creative visual designs e.g.
MS Paint Package for producing free-hand sketches

 Drawing(Design) Packages
Have a technical nature and with controls over facilities of scales and dimensions e.g.
Auto CAD used in producing engineering diagrams.

Computer File Concepts

File
Is a collection of related data records.

Master file
Is a file that contains data of a permanent nature against which transaction files are
used to update it e.g. permanent customer details such as home address, work
address, ID numbers etc.

A master file may typically contain:

 Reference data e.g. price or rate which is occasionally changed
 Dynamic data which changes frequently and is processed by updating e.g.
balance on account

algorithm for updating a master file.

Transaction file(aka movement file)

Is a file that contains incoming and outgoing data used to update a master file e.g.
payments and purchases in a credit shop, deposits and withdrawals in a bank etc

Reference file
Is a file that contains data for use in performing a transaction e.g. price lists, pay rates
etc.

87
Temporary file(aka scratch file)
Is a file which is automatically generated during file processing and no longer
necessary.

Backup file
Is a file which is simply a duplicate or copy of the original file which is used to recover
or restore data in the event of accidental data loss or theft.

For back up systems, the common method used is that of file generations explained
below.

File generations
Successive versions of backup files using the concept of grandfather-father-son where
the latest version is called the son, the one before it is called the father and the one
before the father is called grandfather.

Backup can be:

 Full backup – i.e. saving all old and new files
 Incremental backup – i.e. saving new or updated files only
 Periodic backup – i.e. scheduled backup meaning saving files on preset times or
dates

Basic operations on files

Sorting
Arranging data or records in a desired predetermined order e.g. ascending or
descending order.

Advantages of sorted data

(a) Sorted files are easier to update and merge
(b) Its easier to search for a record on a sorted file
(c) Its faster to access a record from a sorted file

Sorting is usually done by standard utility software(SORT programs). Data can be

sorted using a number of methods listed below:

 Bubble sort
 Quick sort
 Insertion sort
 Shell sort

Bubble sort method

Is a sort method in which values or entries are considered to be listed vertically and
the smaller values ‘bubbles’ ad float to the top as the bigger values sink to the bottom
of the list.

This method can be used on numbers or names as below:

Illustrate by means of a diagram how to sort the following numbers in ascending order
using bubble sort method: 50 80 7 9 65

The procedure will be:

88
  Compare each number with the next
 If the first number is bigger, then swop the numbers
 Continue through each pair until the values are sorted

50 80 7 9 65 compare 50 and 80, 50 is smaller than 80

so no change
50 80 7 9 65 compare 80 and 7, 80 is bigger than 7,
swop the two figures
50 7 80 9 65 compare 80 and 9, 80 is bigger than 9,
swop the figures
50 7 9 80 65 compare 80 and 65, 80 is bigger than 65,
swop the figures
50 7 9 65 80 end of first pass, start again since
numbers are not yet fully sorted.
50 7 9 65 80 compare 50 and 7, 50 is bigger than 7,
swop the figures
7 50 9 65 80 compare 50 and 9, 50 is bigger than 9,
swop the figures
7 9 50 65 80 compare 50 and 65, 50 is smaller than 65,
no swop
7 9 50 65 80 compare 65 and 80, 65 is smaller than 80,
no swop.
7 9 50 65 80 end of second pass, all figures are now
sorted.
Algorithm for sorting in alphabetical order(ascending order)

Merging
Is combining two or more files in the same order by interleaving their records to form
an ordered file e.g. (Note: File 1 and File 2 must be in the same order)

File 1 : 2 4 5 18
File 2 : 1 6 9 15
New merged file : 1 2 4 5 6 9 15 18

Concatenation
Is simply two files together with no attention being made to order e.g.

Example 1
Text A : ‘Brendon’
Text B : ‘Musarurwa’
A + B or A and B : Brendon Musarurwa’ NOTE: This is concatenated
text.

Example 2
File 1 :3 1 6 5
File 2 :9 4 10 8
Concatenated :3 1 6 5 9 4 10 8

89
FILE ORGANIZATION AND ACCESS METHODS

SERIAL ORGANIZATION

Record organisation
Is a file organization system in which records are written on the tape one after the
other in order of entry.

Record access method

In order to read a record, one has to go through all preceeding records until you get to
the required record, this is the main disadvantage of the serial access file organization
on magnetic tapes. Serial file organization is mainly used for :
 Batch processing
 Backup systems

SEQUENTIAL ORGANIZATION

Record organisation
Is a file organization system in which records are written on the tape in a
predetermined order e.g. alphabetical or ascending order.

Record access method

However to access a record, the read/write head has to go through all preceeding
records until the required record is reached. Data retrieval and searching is faster
than in serial since records will be in some predetermined order.

INDEXED SEQUENTIAL ORGANIZATION.

Record organisation
Is a file organization system in which records are stored in some predetermined order
and an index or key field is added to each record to allow it to be read directly e.g.
storage of data on CD.

Record access method

Data or records are accessed and retrieved directly without going through other
records through the use of the index.

RANDOM(aka DIRECT) ORGANIZATION

Record organisation
Is a file organization system in which records are stored on magnetic disks such as
diskettes or hard disk without any order(randomly) and make use of an index or key
field to retrieve a record without going through all other records.

Record access method

Data or records are accessed and retrieved directly without going through other
records through the use of the index.

Random file organization has the fastest method of data retrieval that’s why it is
suitable and used for online and interactive systems where data is processed and
results produced instantly.

90
Addressing records for direct access (ref GCSE Computer Studies)
An address can be assigned by one of the following:

 Directory
 Key transformation

Directory (aka electronic map)

Is where a list of available locations on the disk can be kept so that when a new record
is to be stored, it is stored at the next available location. The record key and the
location are then placed in a directory(or index) for subsequent retrieval.

Key transformation
An algorithm is applied to the key to transform(change) it to a file address. The most
common method is to divide the record key by a prime number corresponding to the
number of storage locations to be used.

The remainder is used as the address for the record e.g. with 7 records, 11 locations
numbered 0 to 11, keys 3, 12, 21, 39, 44, 60, 62.

The first record with key 3 is divided by 11 giving 0 remainder 3. This is placed in
location 3. The second record with key 12 divided by 11 gives remainder 1 and goes
into location 1, the process continues.

Advantages of sequential access over direct access

 Sequential access media(tapes and cassettes) is cheaper

 More efficient where transactions can be batched and the activity(hit rate) is
high when updating e.g. weekly payroll run
 Automatic backup files(e.g. old master file on separate tape)
 Its easier to write programs which handle sequential files

Advantages of direct access over sequential access

 Amendments and updates can be made to individual records quickly and on

demand
 Selected records can be accessed far more quickly in any order
 Several files can be processed or updated at the same time
 No need for storing records in any particular order i.e. transaction do not have
to be sorted

91
 4.5 Hardware, systems and communications

Data capture
and input
collection

Add details
Data verification
Is checking for correctness of data i.e. errors like transcription or transposition of
figures, totals etc by repeating keyboard operations i.e. entering data twice and
comparing results.

If the results are the same, data is assumed and verified to be correct and if there is a
difference then an error is signaled.

Data validation
Checking data on entry to see if its sensible, reasonable, realistic or meaningful e.g.
where age is required, a negative number becomes invalid entry, where name is
required, a number would be invalid.

Examples of validation checks are:

Range checks
assigning of lower and upper limits i.e. minimum and maximum entries e.g. for date in
dd/mm/yy format:

Day : 1 - 31
Month : 1 - 12

Form : 1 – 6

Presence checks
Where an empty entry would be trapped and program will not proceed until an entry
has been entered.

Data type checks

Assigning appropriate data type e.g. :

Field data type

age numeric
surname text
date date

92
Input devices
Are peripherals that are used to enter data into the computer in computer-readable
form.

Device - OMR(Optical Mark Reader)

Is a device that detects the intensity of reflected light to identify a pencil mark at a
particular position on specially designed form or grid such as multiple choice answer
sheets or ‘O’ and ‘A’ level registration forms.

Process - Optical Mark Recognition(OMR aka mark sensing)

Is the process used by the optical mark reader to detect the intensity of reflected light
to identify a pencil mark at a particular position on specially designed form or grid
such as multiple choice answer sheets or ‘O’ and ‘A’ level registration forms

Advantages of OMR
 Faster data entry
 No need to manually key in data
 No verification is needed

Device – OCR(Optical Character Reader)

Is a device that reads and input data from stylised printed or handwritten text by
detecting the pattern of reflected light.

Process – Optical Character Recognition

Is the process used by Optical Mark Reader to read and input data from stylised
printed or handwritten text by detecting the pattern of reflected light.

Disadvantages
 Can only read limited characters
 May read data wrongly e.g. where a handwritten letter ‘S’ is similar to digit ‘5’

Device – MICR(Magnetic Ink Character Reader)

Is an input device used in the banking industry to read and input data from cheques
written. The system uses only 14 characters including digits 0 – 9 printed in magnetic
ink. The codes on the cheque are for:

 Cheque (aka serial) number

 Bank or branch sort code
 Account number

Process – (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition)

Is the process where the Magnetic Ink Character Reader first magnetises characters on
the cheque and then reads and input the data onto the computer. The system uses
only 14 characters including digits 0 – 9 printed in magnetic ink

The MIC Reader cannot read handwritten amounts, so the amount withdrawn is first
typed and printed on the cheque in magnetic ink before it can be processed.

93
Sample cheque

ZIMBANK First Street Branch 4112

Pay_________________________________________________________Duty Paid
or order

Sum of ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________ $

_____________
Mr J. Huggins

A B C D

A – stands for cheque serial number

B – stands for bank account number
C – stands for bank branch sort code
D – stands for the amount withdrawn

Note: the order of numbers can change or vary from bank to bank

Advantages of computerized cheque processing

 System is robust i.e. cheques can still be read even if the cheque is folded, dirty
or when MICR numbers are written on.
 System is difficult if not impossible to forge
 System is accurate i.e. human clerical and arithmetic errors are eliminated.

Bar code readers(aka laser scanners)

Reads codes represented by bar codes and upload the data into the computer where it
will be compared with stored data and the computer will in turn send back instantly
the following information to the screen:

 product description
 price.

Bar code
A bar code is a series of black and white vertical lines of varying thickness that
represent a unique code for a particular code.

The bar code can be read by any of the following:

 Laser scanner
 Light pen
 Hand-held wand

If the bar code reader fails to read the bar code, the till operator may:

 Manually type in the bar code numbers

94
  Manually type in the price

Advantages of bar codes

 Data is processed much faster
 Faster data entry
 No input errors as they are eliminated

Disadvantages of bar codes

 Cannot be used on all products e.g. may not be used on meat, vegetables or
fruits
 Cannot be used on very large items or very small items e.g. cars, beds, needles,
pins etc
 Does not show the price hence customers may not be willing to purchase the
products

Types of bar codes

There are 2 main types of bar codes as follows:

European Article Numbering(EAN)

Consists of 4 sets of digit codes representing the following:

 country of product origin code

 manufacturer code
 product code
 check digit

Note: Actual number of specific digits for each item may vary e.g.
2 5 5 1 or 3 4 5 1

Universal Product Code(UPC)

Is common in USA and made up of 8 digit codes for the following:

 company code
 product code

Scanners
Are devices used to copy text, diagrams and pictures into the computer where they can
be altered. Scanners are mainly used in DTP to copy documents and pictures.

Touch-sensitive screen
Allow the computer to be operated by operated by pointing or touching the icons or
menu which will be executed. The touch-sensitive screen can either have:

 touch-sensitive membrane
 grid of infra-red light

When one touches the screen, the infra-red beam membrane is interpreted and action
at that point is executed. In Zimbabwe, touch-sensitive screen are used on some ATMs
especially Trust Bank(currently under curatorship)

95
Keyboard
Is the standard input device with a ‘QWERTY’ layout similar to that of a typewriter. It
has additional keys such as Esc, function keys, cursor control keys etc.

Main disadvantages
 Can only allow entry of text data and not pictures
 Speeds varies and depends with the typist

Mouse
A small hand-held device with a ball fitted underneath. When the mouse is moved on a
flat surface, the ball rolls and a signal created and transmitted to the computer. The
computer controls a pointer on the screen which moves in a direction corresponding to
the direction of mouse movement.

A mouse is mainly used to:

 Access icons or items from menu or lists

 Creating drawings(graphics) on the screen
 For playing games

Advantages
 User-friendly as non-specialist can use the mouse
 No typing skills are required

Trackball
Similar to a mouse but has a roller ball on top instead of underneath as on a mouse.
There are buttons next to the roller ball that have the same function as mouse
buttons. Trackballs are mostly used on laptop computers and Personal Digital
Assistants(PDAs) i.e. very small hand-held computers.

Microphone
Is used as an input device for computerized music recording, and a limited vocabulary
in voice recognition system such as those used in attaching voice tags to voice dialing
systems.

Its difficult to fully utilize voice input because of the difference in accent, tone and
language.

Voice recognition system

Is a system used for people with minimum hand movement or where users’ hands are
occupied by something else. Add more detail

Light pen
Pen-shaped device with a light sensor such that when its moved closer to the screen, a
character or object is detected and can be moved to create or modify graphics.

Graphics tablet
Consists of touch-sensitive flat membrane called graphics pad. The user can place a
diagram on the surface and then use a normal pen or pencil to draw on paper and the
diagram will be transferred automatically into the computer(tracing concept).

A grid stylus is normally used to control and write on the touch-sensitive screen.

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Sensors
Are electronic devices used to collect continuos or variable data from the environment
e.g. temperature, light, pressure, humidity, pH and oxygen levels etc. Sensors
normally produce a voltage which must be converted to a digital signal using the
Analog-to-Digital Converter(ADC).

Digital camera
Takes pictures and enters them directly into a connected computer or alternatively
stores the picture in digital form on RAM installed on the camera. A digital camera is
different from an ordinary camera that store image on the film.

Joystick
Is made up of one or two gear shifts known as pots used for playing computer video
games on a TV set or computer.

The pots produce voltages of between 0 and 5 when moved which are input onto the
computer. The voltages are converted by an in-built ADC to binary digits that can be
processed and executed by the computer.

Punched cards
Are simple cards with data encoded on a pattern of rectangular holes. The method is
slow, expensive and prone to errors (disadvantages). Punched cards are no longer in
common use today. They were mainly used in turnaround documents such as factory
time cards, electricity bills etc.

Note: turnaround documents are documents which are first produced as output and
later on used as input source documents e.g. statement with the following part that
reads:

“..tear off the part below and return it with your payment”

Terminals(aka workstations)
Is another input device made up of a keyboard and monitor at its simplest level. There
are basically three types of terminals as below:

 Dump terminal
Is a terminal that consist of a VDU and keyboard with no attached processor used
only to enter data and display information from the main computer.

 Smart terminal
Is similar to a dump terminal but have some limited amount of memory and
processing power(have own processor)

 Intelligent terminal
Have enough processing power on their own such that they can full processing and
only send processed data to the host or central computer. Are mainly used in
network system (distributed processing)

Video digitisers
Are input devices that convert video signals into digitized representation in computer
memory. Are mainly used to capture single or multiple video frames for printing
pictures in magazines or TV adverts.

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Magnetic stripe card reader
Are input devices with computerized scanning sensors used on ATM and credit cards
to scan for details on the black stripe at the back of the card and send the data to a
connected computer.

The magnetic card contain coded information which is read, input into the computer
and interpreted for a transaction to take place. Recent development include the smart
card which contains a microprocessor.

Key-to-disk
Is an input system in which data is entered and saved directly on magnetic disk.

Key-to-tape input system

Is an input system in which data is entered and saved directly on magnetic disk.

Note:

Analogue data
Are continuous or variable magnitudes or quantities such as temperature, pressure,
voltage etc.

Digital data
Are a series of discrete binary digits of 1s and 0s.

Analogue-to-Digital Conversion
Is the process of changing analogue data(variable magnitudes) to digital data(discrete
binary digits) so as to be recognized and processed by the computer.

Most computers and peripherals are digital but some are not e.g. some sensors are
analogue devices which produce a voltage in response to temperature change and the
voltage is an example of analogue signal which must be converted to digital form for it
to be processed by a computer and this is done by the Analogue-to-Digital
Converter(ADC).

Analogue-to-Digital Converter(ADC)
A circuit that changes continuous or variable data such as temperature, pressure etc
to discrete binary digits(digital data).

Digital-to-Analogue Converter(DAC)
A circuit that changes digital data(binary digits) to analogue data (continuous or
variable data) such as temperature, pressure, voltage etc.

Digital-to-Digital Conversion
Is the reverse process of changing digital data(discrete binary digits) to analogue
data(variable magnitudes) that can be recognized by non-digital devices like actuators,
pumps, valves etc.

Note:
Actuators
Are output devices used by a computer to send a required action to a machine
attached to a computer e.g. computers operating actuators in washing machine
and chemical plants to open and close valves and pumps

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Output devices(ref UNISA – Fundamentals of Computer Science Module)
Are peripherals that are used to display, print, present or produce output in human-
understandable form. There are two basic classes of output:

 Hardcopy
These are printouts or printed information from printers or plotters that are
physical and tangible.

 Softcopy
Refers to information that is not tangible nor physical e.g. displayed information on
the screen or sound from computer speakers

Examples of output devices are:

 Printers
 Monitors/screens/LCDs
 Speakers
 Plotters

Printers
Can be classified as:

 Impact printers
 Non-impact printers

Impact printers
These are printers that use mechanical force to hit characters on inked ribbons
against papers to produce text on paper.

Examples of impact printers

 Daisy wheel printer

Consist of a rotating wheel with characters mounted at the end of some metallic
spokes. A small electronic hammer strikes the appropriate character on the inked
ribbon against the paper if it comes to the print position.

 Chain printer(aka band printer)

Consists of a chain with letters embossed on the chain which rotates clockwise and
magnetically controlled hammers strike appropriate characters when they line up
at the print position.

 Drum printer
Similar to the chain printer but has this one consists of a rotating drum where
letters are mounted.

 Dot matrix printer

Consists of a print head that fires a matrix of pins through a ribbon against the
paper. The pins can form a matrix e.g. 7 x 5 matrix pins. To print a character, the
print head fires appropriate pins onto the ribbon against the paper.

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Examples of non-impact printer

 Inkjet printer
Operate by firing or squirting tiny droplets of ink through small holes called ink
nozzles. The ink is first heated and boiled in microscopic tube and then ejected by
steam pressure. Ink jet printers can print in colour or black and white e.g. the HP
Deskjet or HP Officejet range

 Thermal printer(aka electrostatic printer)

This printer prints after current is passed on the print head rods and when they
come into contact with heat sensitive paper, characters are formed.

 Laser printer(aka xerographic printer)

Use an electronic laser beam to form an image on the surface of a rotating drum
where toner is attracted. The page image is transferred and fused on the paper by
heat and pressure. The printing mechanism is similar to that of photocopying.

 Plotter
Is an output device used to draw high quality engineering or architectural
drawing on large sheet of paper such as building plans, electronic circuits,
town plans etc. The advantage of plotter is that it can draw on very large
sheets of papers

There are two types of plotters as below:

 Drum plotter
Use a rotating drum or cylinder over which drawing pens are mounted. The
drawings are produced with a combination of drum and pen movement.

 Flatbed plotter
Looks like a drafting table with mechanical pens suspended over them and
the pen movement is controlled by software.

 Computer Output on Microfilm(COM)

This is an output system where the output is written directly on the special film in
a very much reduced size using an electron or laser beam. Alternatively it is
captured by means of photographing the displayed information on the screen and
then upload it onto a film. Information is read by means of special COM reader or
magnifying viewer which project the information on full view screen.

 Speakers
Are used as output devices for sound, music or speech

 Monitor(aka VDU/Screen/LCD)
Used for displaying softcopy information

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Storage media(devices)
Refers to various devices used to store data and programs before, during and after
processing.

The two classes of storage media are:

 Main storage – aka primary storage or main memory

 Backing storage – aka secondary storage or auxiliary memory

Main memory
Consists of two basic classes ROM and RAM for holding data and instructions
before, during and after processing.

Read Only Memory(ROM)

Is permanent and non-volatile memory that can only be read from. Normally ROM
holds instructions on starting a computer(booting up).

Non-volatile means that programs are not lost if power is switched off. The
programs in ROM are set or stored(etched) permanently during manufacture and
are said to be ‘hard-wired’ and often called firmware.

Recent developments and further divisions of ROM are:

 Programmable Read Only Memory(PROM)

Similar to ROM but has additional feature that allows it to be programmed once
only and by the user and thereafter programs are held permanently. It is at
times referred to as Write Once Read Many(WORM).

 Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(EPROM)

Similar to PROM but is a further development and it can be erased and
reprogrammed several times without removing it from the computer.

 Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(EEPROM)

Is similar to EPROM in that it can erased and reprogrammed several times after
removing it from the computer by a process of exposing it to ultraviolet light in
order to erase it and set it to its original state and then reprogram it. It is at
times known as Electrically Alterable Read Only Memory(EAROM)

Random Access Memory(RAM)

Is temporary and volatile memory that can be read from and written to. It holds
data before, during and after processing.

Volatile means that data is lost is power is switched off. RAM allows both the read
and write processes, and it is sometimes called semi-conductor memory. Some
RAM is powered by battery for the date and time to keep running.

Two further divisions of RAM are:

 Dynamic Random Access Memory(DRAM)

In DRAM, each cell is electronically charged to represent a 1 or 0. however a cell
can lose its charge by leaking or reading data from it and it is recharged(topping
up) at synchronized and timed regular intervals to preserve its state by a
process called refreshing using a special generator circuit.
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  Static Random Access Memory(SRAM)
Retains its electrical charge for as long as the computer is switched on.

Note: both DRAM and SRAM lose data if power is switched off.

Cache memory
Small high speed memory used for holding data and programs that are heavily
used. It acts as an intermediate storage between the CPU and the main memory
and it improves the overall speed of the computer because its closer to the CPU.

Memory Units
The smallest memory unit is the bit(binary digit) i.e. either a 1 or 0. In computers,
a 1 may represent or mean ON and a 0 may represent or mean OFF.

Bit : single binary digit – either 1 or 0

Byte : a group of 8 bits representing a character
1Kilobyte(KB) : 1024 bytes
1Megabyte(MB) : 1024 Kb
1Gigabyte : 1024 Mb
1Terabyte : 1024 Tb

Word size
Is the number of bits that the CPU can process simultaneously. This is different
from data bus size which determines the number of bits transmitted at the same
time. Some PCs have 32 bits or better processors.

Backing storage(aka secondary or auxiliary storage)

Are devices used for mass storage of programs and files which may be transferred
to main storage when needed. There are several backing storage media as follows:

Magnetic disk
Has both sides coated with magnetic material and are able to store and retrieve
data using a read/write head. The two types of magnetic disk are:

 Floppy disk(aka diskette)

Is made up of flexible plastic case and the inside is made up of circular plastic
coated with magnetic material of ferric oxide.

The standard 3.5inch diskettes have a storage capacity of 1.44Mb. Before a

diskette is used it must be formatted and formatting simply means setting up a
diskette for use by electronically marking tracks and sectors on both sides of
the diskette.

Hardware component used to copy data to and from a diskette is called the disk
drive. Diskettes can be easily corrupted by excessive heat, dust and moisture.

Diskettes can be easily corrupted by:

 Excessive heat
 Moisture
 Dust particles

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 Structure of a diskette

block

Read/write process
To read/write data, the disk goes through the following process:

 Seek time
Time taken for the read/write head to move to the correct track

 Search time
Time taken for the disk to rotate so that the data is positioned
underneath the read/write head

 Read/write time
Time taken for the actual reading/writing of data

Therefore, disk access time = seek time + search time + read/write time

Note: all blocks on a disk hold the same amount of data, this means data is
more densely packed at the center and more sparsely packed towards the edge

 Hard disk(aka Winchester disk)

Consist of one or more disk platters covered with a metal case. The inside disk
platters are covered with magnetic material such as iron oxide or ferric oxide.

Each surface is divided into concentric tracks and sectors. The intersection of a
track and sector is called a block and is the smallest unit that can be read or
written to. The internal structure is similar to that of a diskette.

There are two main types of hard disks as below:

(a) Fixed hard disk

Always mounted inside the computer

(b) Exchangeable hard disk

can be removed from the CPU.

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 Optical (laser) disks
Consists of the following:

 CD-ROM(Compact Disk Read Only Memory)

 VCD(Video Compact Disk)
 DVD(Digital Versatile Disk)

VCD and DVD are new and recent developments which can store ordinary data,
sound and videos. CD-ROMs are similar to audio CDs and data is recorded on
them using high power infrared laser and read using low power
laser(photodetector).

Advantages of CDs over diskettes

 High storage capacity

 High speed data transfer
 Not affected by minor scratches because they have a protective clear
plastic coating on the surface

Disadvantages of CDs

 Some are read only

 Erasable or rewritables need expensive CD writers

Recording structure of a CD

Is in the form of a spiral groove starting from the center progressing outwards. The
rotation rate of a CD is high at the center approximately 530 rpm and decreases
towards the edge to about 200 rpm(revolutions per minute)

Magnetic tape
Is made up of plastic stripe coated with magnetic material where characters are
recorded as a row of dots across the width of a tape representing binary bits. The
number of characters recorded on a given length of tape is known as packing density
and is measured in characters per inch(cpi). There are three basic types of magnetic
tapes as below:

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  Cassettes
 Cartridges(tape streamers)
 Open reel tape

Cassettes and cartridges are almost the same and cartridges are regarded as smaller
versions of cassettes. The main difference between cassettes and cartridges and open
reel tape is that cassettes are slotted into the tape slot(drive) but an open reel tape is
threaded(wound) onto a reel.

Overview of magnetic tape

Physical Logical Block IBG(Inter Block Gap)

Record record

A single record across the tape is called a logical record

A number of records stored on a block is called physical record
The number of records in a block is called blocking factor
The distance between blocks of data or block markings is called IBG(Inter Block Gap)

Side view of magnetic tape

Vacuum columns to absorb pressure during sudden

Start/stop so as to avoid stretching or breaking the stripe

Advantages of magnetic tapes over disks

 Larger storage capacity
 Cheaper on a per megabyte basis than other storage media

Disadvantages of magnetic tapes

 Slow data retrieval due to serial or sequential file organization
 The stripe can get easily damaged due to scratches or stretching

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Magneto-optical disks
New development in storage media technology that combines technologies of magnetic
media and CD-ROMs to produce a disk similar to CD-ROM but with a difference in
that you can read and write to it and data on it can be erased.

Flash disk
Another new and recent storage media which is portable and removable with much
larger storage capacity than diskettes.

4.5.2 Systems and Communications

Operating systems
Are programs that manage the operation and running of a computer. Examples of
operating systems are:

 Windows XP (NT, 2000)

 Unix
 Linux
 Novel Netware
 MS-DOS

Functions of operating systems

 Resource allocation – sharing of access time to resources such as printers,

databases etc
 (I/O) Input/Output Control – control of reading and writing to and from all
peripherals
 File management – supervising the creation, updating, sorting and deletion of
files from storage media, this allows easy access and retrieval of files.
 Operator console or interface – handles command interpretation, execution and
display of messages
 Memory management – handling the sharing of memory by various programs
 Multiprogramming – organization of the processor to load and execute more
than one program at a time
 Security – assigning and management of logon user IDs and passwords
 Utilities – subprograms for performing specific functions such as disk space(e.g.
defragmentation, scandisk), backup features
 Interrupt handling – from program errors, hardware malfunctions or other
external devices.
 Job scheduling – is done by routine within operating system used to decide
which job should continue processing next after a break e.g. after an interrupt.

Operating system modes of operation

Batch processing system

Is a system in which a job is processed without any direct interaction between the job
and the user. It involves the collection of data over a long period of time into a
transaction file(batch) and later on processed against a master file to produce an
updated master file.

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 Job
Is a data processing term for a package of work regarded by the computer as a
single unit e.g. producing a small report or full payroll. Once started, each
program will proceed automatically to completion.

Job queue
Is the order in which jobs are submitted for processing, however in some
systems priorities will override the job order.

Job control language

Is a specialized language used to control the execution of a job in a computer. It
also enables a series of small jobs to be linked together and executed in one
larger and more efficient operation.

(Ref: British Computer Society)

Typical applications of batch processing are:

 Payroll processing
Where hours worked by employees are collected over a period of time(weekly or
monthly) and then used to calculate the wages for the workers.

 Billing systems
Where readings for water, electricity, telephones etc are collected at the end of the
month and entered into a computer to calculate the monthly bills.

 Credit systems
Where amounts spent over the month are collected together and then billed
together to produce a statement

Online system
Is where the input device e.g. workstation or ATM is directly connected to the main
computer such that data processing and updating takes place instantly. In contrast to
batch processing system, an online system is a system that provides for interaction
between the job and the user, which influence the future course of processing.

Examples of online systems are:

 ATM Zimswitch banking network

 Airline booking system
 Internet connection

Online systems can be:

 Single-user online system – used on personal computer

 Multi-user online system on large networks

Offline system
Is a system in which the input device such as the terminal or workstation is not under
immediate control of the main computer i.e. not directly connected to the main
computer at that moment in time such that no transaction updating can take place.

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All data entry will be made to disk or tape storage and later on uploaded when a direct
connection is made

Interactive processing
Is a system that provides the user with a dialogue platform, allowing data entry and
giving direct and immediate responses from the system e.g. requesting bank balance
on the ATM, airline booking system.

Centralized processing
Is whereby data from various company branches, departments or other remote sites is
sent to the Head Office or central data processing department in a raw state for input
and processing.

Distributed(network) processing
Is whereby data processing is carried out independently in more than location but
with shared and controlled access to common facilities and databases.

Company branches or departments will be having their own minicomputers with

enough processing capacity to meet their departmental requirements. Such branches
will only send their data to the Head Office for consolidation with data from other
departments.

Real-time system
Is an online system in which the main computer is used to update data and produce
results that affect the next input from computer or non-computer equipment.

Real time system can be one of the following:

 Real-time transaction system

An online system in which individual discrete transactions are processed as they
occur(instantly) influencing behaviour in the outside world e.g. airline booking
system

 Real-time process control system

An online system in which physical quantities are continuously monitored and
immediate action of system depends on the quantities.

 Airline traffic control

 Nuclear power plant control
 Chemical plant control

Multi-access(multiuser) system
Is a system that allows several users apparently to access, run programs and have
individual control of a central computer from various workstations which may involve
updating the same file.

Each user is allocated a time slice of the processor thus it is sometimes known as
time-sharing. The switching from one user to another is so fast and unnoticeable from
the user’s point of view.

Multiprogramming
Is a system that allows two or several programs to be processed apparently
simultaneously or concurrently but actually in bursts(switching) controlled by an
operating system such as Windows or Unix Operating Systems.

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At any time, there will be several programs in memory all at different stages of
execution and again the switching from one program to another is so fast and
unnoticeable. For example, one program may be waiting for input, another using the
processor, another being saved etc and to control this process, priorities may be
assigned to jobs.

Multi-tasking
Is a system that allows several tasks or applications to be run simultaneously or
concurrently especially under Windows or Unix Operating Systems.
At any time, there will be several tasks in memory all at different stages of execution
and again the switching from one task to another is so fast and unnoticeable

Some operating systems do not support multi-tasking and these are called single-
tasking.

NOTE: Multiprogramming and Multitasking are at times considered to be one system

Multiprocessing
Is a system where the computer will be having more than one processor but still
sharing all or part of memory.

Control systems
Is a system in which one or more computers are used to control the operation of some
non-computer equipment usually involving some monitoring and physical quantities
for analysis.

Feedback and timing are critical considerations and at times. Such control systems
are referred to as real-time control systems.

Control systems can be used in monitoring production machines or quality control

machines where they reject detected substandard products.

Examples of control systems include:

 Air traffic control systems

 Road Traffic control systems

Automated and embedded systems

Are systems similar to control systems but dedicated to a particular task and lack the
ability to collect and analyse data and flexibility to allow for and act on user
interaction.

Examples of automated systems are those found on:

 Washing machines
 Auto-focus cameras
 Anti-lock braking systems

Another example of automated system is found at a nuclear power plant where in the
event of an accident, many automated steps take place such as:

 Shutting down pumps

 Closing down valves
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  Injecting emergency coolant

Remote job entry

Is the use of a remote terminal i.e. terminal at a distance from the main computer, to
initiate and upload a job on a computer to which the terminal is attached. Applicable
to both online and batch processing system

Direct data entry

Is the input of data for batch processing using a key-to-disk unit. Data may be
validated while held in a temporary file before being written to the disk for subsequent
processing (ref British Computer Society)

Peripheral device control

Peripheral
Is an input, output or storage device that is or that can be attached to the CPU e.g.
printer, CD-ROM, keyboard etc.

Normally the speed at which the CPU operates is vastly different from the speed at
which the input, output or storage device operates e.g. the CPU can send data to a
printer much more quickly than the printer can print. Similarly the CPU can accept
data much faster than the rate at which it can be typed at the keyboard.

Because of the above situations, there is a need for an interface device to help with the
transmission of data between the CPU and the storage or I/O(Input/Output) devices
because they have different speeds called a buffer.

Buffer
Temporary storage area used for holding data during transfer between the CPU,
storage, input and output devices so as to compensate for different speeds of
equipment. There are 3 types of buffers as below:

 input buffer – which accepts data of the slow speed of an input device and
release it at electronic speed to the CPU e.g. the keyboard buffer
 output buffer – accepts data at electronic speed from the CPU and release it at a
slower speed of the output device e.g. the printer buffer
 storage or memory buffer – a reserved section of primary storage which accepts
data at electronic speed from the CPU for storage and release it slowly to the
storage device.

Interrupt
Is a signal generated by a device which causes a break in the execution of an active
program. It can also be defined as a signal which causes the suspension(pausing) of
the execution of an active program following a signal from a device to the CPU to carry
out another function.

An example of an interrupt occurs when one is working on a document and the

following message appears:

Virus detected !
Printer out of paper !
Or
CLEAN FILE CONTINUE

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Interrupt priority
Is the order of importance or urgency given to the interrupts by the processor basing
on priority rules of the computer. Jobs with higher priority will get the processor time
ahead of those with low priority.

Polling
Testing or sending a signal to a terminal in a multi-access(network) system to
establish whether it is holding data for transmission or processing, if it doesn’t the
processor moves on to the next terminal so as to allow timesharing.
The main disadvantage with polling is that time is wasted in checking each and every
terminal on the network.

Difference between interrupt and polling

With an interrupt, the external device or event interrogates the processor whereas in
polling it is the processor that interrogates the external device.

Handshaking
Is exchanging of electronic communication signals between two devices so as to
recognize each other and establish a communication link before data transmission. A
common example of handshaking happens between the computer and printer when
the computer is turned on whilst the printer is also on and produces a sound.

Spooling(Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line)

Is the process of writing input or output data to a high speed storage area such as
disk until the I/O device is available so as to reduce processor idle time.

Normally the I/O devices are much slower than the CPU, this means the processor will
spend most of its time waiting for data to arrive from the slow input devices before it
can continue with other duties.

For input, all required input data is spooled(written to a disk) where it can be retrieved
and processed more quickly. And for output, information to the printers may be
spooled(written to a disk) which is a high speed device and when the printer becomes
free, output will be printed.

The technique of spooling enables users using a network system simultaneously to

share the same printer without getting their output muddled up. Each user’s output is
spooled to a different position and printed by using the print queue system.

De-spooling
Is the process of transferring data from a storage device to the output device such as
the printer.

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 DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING

Data communication
Is the transmission and receiving of coded data e.g. text, voice, video etc over a
communication link between two or more computers.

Network
Is an interconnection of two or more computers and related equipment such as
printers and fax machines. There are two basic categories or types of networks:

Categories of networks
There are two basic categories of networks as below:

(a) client-server network - is a network which consists of a group of user PCs

called clients that issue requests to a server e.g. Novell Netware, Windows NT
Server, Banyan Vines, Unix
(b) peer-to-peer network – is a network that consists of a group of PCs called
peers that operate as equals and do not rely on central control. PCs or clients
rely on one another for services e.g. Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95,
Windows NT Workstation.

(a) LAN(Local Area Network)

Is a network confined in a single room, building or campus and usually linked directly
by cables.

LANs are usually made up of the following:

(a) File and print servers
(b) Terminals(computers)
(c) Cables
(d) Network cards and hubs for star networks
(e) Network software

Characteristics of LAN
 Is confined to a small geographical area
 Transfer data at very high speeds
 Usually managed by the company using the LAN

LANs are used in areas such as schools where Bursar, Secretary, Headmaster, Deputy
Headmaster etc will have their computers linked together or PCs in a computer
laboratory linked together to form a network. A college or university may also have
LAN linking the administration computers in various offices to form a LAN.

(b) WAN(Wide Area Network)

Is a network spread over a wider geographical area ranging from one town or country
to the entire world. A WAN is sometimes called LHN(Long Haul Network)

WANs are usually made of the following:

(a) File and print servers

(b) Computers for connection as terminals
(c) MODEM(Modulator/DEModulator)
(d) Telephone
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 (e) Network cards
(f) Network software

Characteristics of WAN
 Is spread over a wider geographical area
 Transmit data at much slower speed than LAN
 Usually interconnect a number of LANs
 At times managed by a third party company especially telecommunications
companies

WANs are used by large companies with many branches within different towns and
cities e.g. banks, credit shops like Edgars, Truworths, Nyore-Nyore etc and
multinational companies with branches in different countries e.g. Unilever(formerly
Lever Brothers), Johnson & Johnson International.

Advantages of networks(networking)

(a) Sharing of expensive software and database files

(b) Sharing of expensive hardware resources such as printers
(c) Improved and faster communication
(d) Central control and administration of information
(e) It enables distribution of work and processing loads
(f) Improved security system monitored from a central point

Disadvantages of networks
 Initial setup cost is high for purchasing PCs, cables, hubs, servers, MODEM,
telephone, network cards, network software etc
 Networks need technical expertise to setup and manage the network such as
engineers, technicians and systems administrators
 Viruses can spread easily on the network
 There is a risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data if no proper security
measures and access levels are put in place

Network services

(a) Data migration – technology that moves infrequently used data from online to
near line or offline storage
(b) File archiving – aka backup i.e. offline storage meant to create duplicate copies
of online data in case of system failures
(c) Communication – aka messaging facility of e-mail, fax and voice mail. (NB voice
mail involves connecting a computer to a telephone to incorporate telephone
voice mail messages on the PC technically called telephony)
(d) Directory services – provide location information for different files on the
network i.e. this is a facility often called information booth
(e) Groupware – recent technology that enables several users to communicate
when solving a problem through shared document management e.g. interactive
conferencing using network programs like Novel GroupWise, Lotus Notes,
Microsoft Exchange etc
(f) Security - this enables control of access to data and other resources by
assigning different access levels and passwords to various network users
(g) Print services – this service enables various print jobs from users on the
network to be queued and printed in order
(h) File Transfer Service – which enables users to upload or download files from
their workstations to other workstations on the network
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 (i) File update synchronization – which enables every user to have latest copy of
updated files through use of central update system
Data communication media(links)
Are devices used to provide a communication link between computers on a network.
There are two classes of transmission media as below:

 Physical transmission media

 Wireless transmission media

Physical transmission media

(a) Twisted-pair wire

Is ordinary copper wire twisted into pairs used mainly for both data and voice
transmission e.g. the telephone wires.

Advantage of twisted-pair wire

 It is much cheaper than other transmission media

Disadvantage of twisted-pair wire

 It is slow for data transmission
 Susceptible to interference called ‘cross talk’ or ‘cross line’ during data
transmission
 Has a higher rate of data distortion or loss during transmission
 Not suitable for long distance such as international connections

(b) Coaxial cable

Is copper or aluminum wire wrapped by a plastic jacket to insulate and protect it in-
order to minimize interference and data distortion.

Advantage of coaxial cable

 Is faster for data transmission than twisted-pair wire
 Has less interference than twisted-pair wire

Disadvantage of coaxial cable

 Is more expensive than coaxial cable
 Not suitable for very long distance such as international connections

(c) fiber optic cables

Are cables consisting of one or more hair-thin filaments of glass fiber wrapped in a
protective sheath. Fiber optics conduct and transmit light pulses.

Advantages of fiber optics

 Have higher transmission rate
 Has greater carrying capacity than twisted pair wire and coaxial cable
 Has reduced weight than the above two media

Disadvantage
 Is more expensive than the first two

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Wireless transmission media

(a) microwaves
Are devices which transmit high speed radio signals in a straight line through
space approximately 25 miles apart. Microwaves make use of devices called
repeaters placed in between microwaves which receive, amplify(boost signals) and
retransmit signals to the next microwave.

(b) satellite
Are devices placed into stationery parking orbits in space. Satellites act as
reflectors by accepting signals from one point on earth e.g. from a microwave or
earth station and then relaying the signals to earth stations commonly called
‘satellite dish’ or ‘dish antenna’.

(c) Infrared media

Devices with sensors such as those used on most remote controls which transmit
pulses of infrared light that carry coded instructions to a connecting point.

(d) Laser media

Use laser light technology similar to infrared technology

(e) Radio
Transmit signals using waves to a connecting point

Factors to consider when choosing data transmission media

 Cost
 Installation requirements i.e. technical specialists and physical layout of the
network)
 Attenuation i.e. loss of signal strength or degrading as the signal travels further
from its origination
 Immunity from electromagnetic interference like noise from motors, lighting etc
 Bandwidth i.e. capacity of the medium to transmit data

New developments in networking

Wireless networks
Are as a result of developments in wireless transmission media. These have seen
increased emphasis on wireless networks. Presently wireless technology is mainly used
in some LANs, WANs and mobile computing where mobile machines connect to the
home or office network using cellular technology or satellite systems.

Reasons for wireless networks

(a) Spaces where cabling is impossible e.g. historical buildings where renovation is
prohibited for political reasons
(b) People who move around a lot in their work environment e.g. network
administrators, doctors, nurses
(c) People who travel a lot outside their work environment e.g. sales executives,
directors, journalists, highway police patrol officers, etc
(d) Temporary installations e.g. temporary departments, offices and branches set
up for a specific purpose that will be removed later

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NOTE:

Server – is a high performance computer which provides some service for other
computers connected to it e.g. print server, file server, fax server, mail server etc

Workstation – is a PC or device which access resources from servers especially in

networks. May also be called a host or terminal.

Modes of data transmission

Are ways in which data is transmitted and varies from system to system. The signals
can be transmitted in the following form:

 Parallel transmission(communication) – aka broadband where signals or bits

representing a character are transmitted all at once
 Serial transmission(communication) – aka base band where a group of bits
representing a character is transmitted one after the other.

Data transmission direction

Data can be sent out in one of the following direction modes:

 Simplex transmission – where data is sent in one direction only e.g. as in the
case of pagers, teletext etc
 Half duplex transmission – where data is sent in both directions but not at the
same time e.g. in the walkie talkie. In order to talk using a walkie talkie, one
has to press a button and the other person has to wait until that button is
released before talking.
 Duplex transmission – where it’s possible to transmit data in both directions at
the same time. An example is the telephone line where one can talk and listen
at the same time.

Signal modulation
Modulation is the conversion of digital signals to analog signals for transmission over a
telephone line and demodulation is the reverse process of converting analog signals
back to digital signals which can be recognized and processed by a computer. The
process of modulation and demodulation is done by a device called
MODEM(MOdulator/DEModulator). A MODEM can be in-built into the computer or it
can be a separate device.

In a computer, data is represented in bits(binary digits) i.e. a series of 1s and 0s. The
following diagrams show simple digital and analog signals:

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 Digital signal An analog signal

For data to be transmitted, it has to be modulated and on the communication channel,

a carrier signal can be in the form of a sinusoidal wave where +5V represents a 1(one)
and –5V represents a 0(zero) as below

The distance between 0 and the highest voltage(+5V) is called amplitude. The number
of cycles per second is called frequency and is measured in Hertz(Hz). The speed of
transmission is called the baud rate and is measured in bits per second(bps).

The following is a simplified diagram showing data transfer:

M M
computer O O computer
D D
EM EM

digital signals analog signals digital signals

Network topologies
Topology simply refers to the structure or layout of a network. The following are the
three basic types of network topologies:

(a) Bus network topology

Under this topology the workstations(aka terminals or nodes) are connected to a single
cable that runs the entire length of the network. Data travels through the cables(also
called the bus) directly from the sending workstation to the receiving workstation.

Advantages of bus network topology

 It is simple to lay and maintain
 It is cheap to setup since it does not involve additional hardware like the hub

Disadvantage of the bus network topology

 The whole network goes down if the cable(bus) develops a fault

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118
 Terminator bus(cable) terminator

workstations(aka terminals or nodes)

(b) star network topology

Under this topology, all workstations are connected directly and individually to the
central hub. All messages pass through the central hub.

Advantage of the star networks

 Fault on one workstation does not affect the whole network as in the ring
network topology

Disadvantage of star networks

 Fault on the hub makes the whole network go down

Server

(c) ring network topology(aka loop network)

Under this network topology, all terminals are linked to form a circle or ring
configuration as shown in the diagram. Message from the sending terminal is passed
to the next terminal until it gets to the receiving destination terminal.

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Ring networks communicate by using one of the two methods below:

 token ring passing where an electronic token is passed around the network
and picked up by the terminal wishing to transmit data.
 CSMA/CD(Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) which works
on the protocol that each device on the network must listen for any sign of
traffic before transmission to avoid transmission clash.

Note: a protocol is a set of communication rules between electronic communication

devices

Disadvantages of the ring network topology

 A fault on the cable makes the whole network down
 A fault on one terminal makes the whole network down

NOTE: Another network topology is the mesh topology which consists of

interconnection of computers as below:

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Other equipment used on networks

Gateway
A connecting computer link between two networks with different architectures(design)
which performs the conversion process that makes the networks compatible.

Bridge
A computer or device that connects two LANs with the same identical protocol e.g. two
Ethernet or two token passing LANs.

Router
A multi-purpose device that can be used to connect similar or different networks as
well as taking other network management tasks such as network traffic control.

Network security
In typical industrial setup network administrators are tasked with setting standard
security measures which includes:

(a) Creating valid and unique user Ids

(b) Creating passwords for each user or letting the users create their own
passwords
(c) Setting access level rights for various files and directories
(d) Ensuring legal requirements are met and no violation of legislation such as the
Data Protection Act

File management of networks

Involves the following:

(a) Creating folders or directories where related data files can be stored
(b) Backing up files in case of accidental or deliberate data loss or corruption
(c) Deleting unnecessary and temporary files which may be taken up space and
slowing down computer speed
(d) Archiving files i.e. copying files not regularly used to a specified directory or
storage medium
(e) File protection by setting ‘read only mode’ to sensitive files
(f) Hiding some sensitive files so as to avoid unauthorized access to that file

NOTE:
 data corruption can be as a result of virus infection, disk crush, deliberate or
fraudulent alteration of figures
 directory or folder is a space created on a disk where usually related files can be
stored together with information enabling them to be retrieved.

Backup and data recovery

Precautions can be taken against fire, floods, power surges, deliberate or accidental
destruction of data but the possibility of destruction still exists.

A simple disk-head crash can destroy data within a fraction of a second leading to loss
of business.

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Examples of consequence of system failure
 Failure during a salary batch process can be irritating and cause a delay
 Failure on air traffic control system can be disastrous and kill hundreds of
people
 Failure of nuclear control system can be catastrophic and kill millions of people

Ways of protecting data against possible system failure

 Regular backup using file generations i.e. grandfather-father-son concept
 Hard disk mirroring
 Server mirroring (i.e. second server backup on standby)
 Use of super server(with hot swappable parts)
 Use of RAID for data stripping
 Use of UPS(Uninterrupted Power Supply)

Disaster planning
Large companies have emergency plans and even after suffering from fire damage,
such companies can still be set up and run again within a day.

Such companies pay some subscriptions to specialist disaster management

companies. The companies provide an emergency backup site with phones, office
space and desks. A complete up-to-date copy of the company database can be retained
from the emergency site with transactions being transmitted to the remote site.

Data backup
Simply refers to making duplicate copies of data on some storage media which can be
used to restore data in the event of a disk crush or other problem.

Recovering data from backup file

The latest archive(generation) of file called the son is copied onto the computer and the
transaction file used since the last backup(archive) are then used to update the master
file.

Disaster recovery
(Ref Microsoft Networking Essentials)

Introduction
One of the major issues that a network administrator must address is the possibility of
system failure and associated downtime. The administrator must handle two major
issues to guard against the danger of a failed server:

 Protecting data
 Reducing downtime

Use of fault-tolerant disk configurations and a backup strategy can help

reduce the danger of lost time and data.

Protecting Data
Natural disasters, equipment failures, power surges, and deliberate vandalism can
cause the catastrophic loss of precious network data. Protecting the data is a primary
responsibility of the network administrator.

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Important strategies for preventing data loss are:

 Backup
 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
 Fault-tolerant design

Backup
A backup schedule is an essential part of any data-protection strategy. You should
design a backup system that is right for your situation and the data on your network.

A number of other software companies(vendors) also offer backup software—such as :

 Arcadia’s BackupExec
 Cheyenne’s ArcServe
 Microsoft’s Backup utility

Common backup strategies are:

 copying files to another drive

 file generations

file generations
are successive versions of backup files that make use of the grandfather, father, son
concept.

File generations concept use three backup copies or tapes where:

 Day 1 copy (latest) is called the son,

 Day 2 copy (now latest) becomes the son and the one made on day 1 now
becomes the father
 Day 3 copy (now latest) becomes the son, the one made on Day 2 becomes the
father and the one made on Day 1 becomes the grandfather.

Note: The cycle begins again after the third backup copy

Most backup commands mark the file with the date and time of the backup so that it
is known when a copy of the file was last saved.

Although backups can be accomplished by saving files to a different drive, they

typically are performed with some form of tape drive. Commonly called DAT drives,
these devices are capable of storing many gigabytes of information quickly and
economically. Moreover, the tapes are small and portable and cheaper on a per-
megabyte basis than a hard drive. Another important step in backup plan, therefore,
is deciding where to store these backup tapes.

Many companies choose to make two copies of each backup tape and store one of the
copies off-site, thereby guarding against a catastrophic event such as a fire.

The following are examples of backup types:

 Full backup. Backs up all specified files.

Advantage:
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  makes the restoration process easier because there is theoretically only
one set of tapes from which to restore

Disadvantages:
 require a lengthy backup process each night
 if the backup tape media is not large enough, someone must be
physically present to change the tapes
 may not be enough time in the night to perform a full backup of all the
data thus following day’s business may be affected

 Incremental backup. Backs up only those files that have changed since the
last full or incremental backup.

Advantage
 much faster because they back up only those files that have been
changed since the last backup

Disadvantage
 in case data corruption on master copy, only the last updated files will
be recovered as compared to full backup

 Differential backup. Backs up the specified files if the files have changed
since the last backup. Differential backup is similar to incremental backups
except that they do not reset the Archive attribute, which means that each
backup during the week backs up all files changed since the last full backup.

A typical backup plan includes some combination of these backup types performed at
regular intervals. One common practice is to perform an incremental or differential
backup each day and a full backup every week.

Companies therefore try to purchase backup media and create a schedule to automate
the backup process (a process called scheduled backup e.g. running backup every
night at 10:00pm), thus not requiring anyone to be physically present to change the
tape media.

If the drives fail, the administrator must restore the last full backup set, as well as all
the incremental backups performed since the drive failure.

Note: this part, you can just read through or write

A full backup once a week (generally Friday or Saturday) and differentials every
other day means that theoretically only two tapes are needed in case of failure:
the last full backup and the last differential.

Most backup utilities can generate a backup log. It is recommended that the
administrator must test his backup system before he can trust it. Perform a
sample backup, restore the data, and check the data to be sure it is identical to
the original.

You can attach a tape drive directly to a single server, or you can back up
several servers across the network at once. Backups over the network are
convenient for the administrator, but they can produce considerable network
traffic. You can reduce the effects of this extra traffic if you place the computer
attached to the tape drive on an isolated network segment and connect it
directly to secondary network interface 124
cards on each of the servers.
Uninterruptible Power Supply(UPS)
An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is a special battery (or sometimes a generator)
that supplies power to an electronic device in the event of a power failure.

UPSs are commonly used with network servers to prevent a disorderly shutdown by
warning users to log out. After a predetermined waiting period, the UPS software
performs an orderly shutdown of the server.

Main functions of UPS units are:

 offer enough power to take over and allow proper shutdown after sudden power
outage(cut)
 regulating power distribution
 protection against power surges.

Remember that in most cases a UPS generally does not provide for continued network
functionality for longer than a few minutes. A UPS is not intended to keep the server
running through a long power outage, but rather is designed to give the server time to
do what it needs to before shutting down.

Purpose of UPS units are:

 prevent the data loss as a result of sudden power outage

 prevent system corruption that sometimes results from sudden power outage.

Some networks also have UPSs connected to their hubs and routers as well, giving
administrators remote access to the servers so they can perform shutdown tasks in
the event of a power outage.

One of the most popular UPS manufacturers is APC (American Power Conversion), a
company that offers a full line of power supply and UPS products. A large UPS can
service numerous components at once.

Ways of preventing system failure

Introduction
Next to data security, keeping the network up and running properly is the most crucial
day-to-day task of an administrator. The loss of a hard drive, even if not disastrous,
can be a major inconvenience to your network users and may cost your organization
in lost time and money. Procedures for lessening or preventing downtime from single
hardware failures should be implemented.

Disk configurations that enable this sort of protection are called fault-tolerant
configurations. It should be noted that fault-tolerant configurations are not designed
as a replacement for system tape backups.

Implementing a Fault-Tolerant Design

Connecting network components into a fault-tolerant configuration ensures that one
hardware failure doesn’t halt the network. You can achieve network fault tolerance by
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providing redundant data paths, redundant hubs, and other such features. Generally,
however, the data on the server itself—its hard drives—is the most crucial.

Using RAID
A vital tool for protecting a network’s data is the use of a Redundant Array of
Inexpensive Disks (RAID). A RAID system combines two or more disks to create a large
virtual disk structure that enables you to store redundant copies of the data.

Options offered under RAID fault-tolerant design:

Data stripping
Refers to the capability of arranging data in different sequences across drives Data can
be read or written to these same sectors from either disk, thus improving performance.

This requires at least two disks, and the striped partitions must be of the same size.

Disk mirroring
Is defined as two hard drives—one primary, one secondary—that use the same disk
channel (controller cards and cable). Disk mirroring is most commonly configured by
using disk drives contained in the server.

Disk mirroring is called disk duplexing when a separate drive controller is added for
each drive. Duplexing, is a form of mirroring that enables you to configure a more
robust hardware environment.

You can use mirroring, however, to create two copies of the server’s data and operating
system, which enables either disk to boot and run the server. If one drive in the pair
fails, for instance, the other drive can continue to operate. Disk mirroring can be
expensive, though, because it requires 2GB of disk space for every 1GB you want to
mirror.

The power source must have enough wattage to handle the additional devices.
Mirroring requires two drives, and the mirrored partitions must be of the same size.
Windows NT Server supports mirroring.

Note: Mirroring is done for fault-tolerant, not performance reasons.

Server mirroring
Server mirroring refers to having one server completely mirrored in all forms to
another server. This means that if Server A goes down for any reason whatsoever,
such as a failed hard drive, failed network card, or even a blown motherboard, the
mirrored Server B takes over the duties of Server A. This type of fault tolerance is
offered by Microsoft in their Microsoft Cluster Server product.

Super server
Is a hardware solution offered by several different hardware manufacturers where
almost any piece of equipment can be changed on the super server without shutting
down the server. This can mean that the super server can have hot swappable
components such as hard drives, CPUs, and even RAM.

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Error checking methods

Introduction
Errors as a result of data distortion or data loss during transmission can be caused by
any or a combination of the following:

 faulty transmission equipment

 interference
 noise or cross lines
 humidity
 dust
 excessive heat near storage media

Such errors can be detected by a number of methods as below:

1. Check digit
Is an extra digit added to numerical data such as code numbers and calculated from
the original digits to check for errors or loss of characters as a result of data transfer
procedures.

Check digit is used to determine if a numerical code e.g. ISBN has been received
correctly

Examples of code numbers where the check digit is used are:

 ISBN
 Product code
 Employee code
 Customer code
 Supplier code
 Account numbers

The check digit can be calculated using a number of methods and the most common
being the mathematical method called the Modullus 11 Method.

Procedures for calculating check digit

 Each digit is assigned a weight. The last digit is given a weight of 2 and the
weights increment by 1 going leftwards ( i.e. 3, 4, 5, 6 etc)
 Each digit is multiplied by its weight and products added together
 Sum of products is divided by 11 and remainder obtained
 Remainder is subtracted from 11 to give the check digit.

Two exceptions are:

 If the remainder is 0(zero), the check digit is 0

 If the remainder is 1(one), the check digit is X(coz 11 - 0 or 11 – 1 gives a result
which is more than two digits)

Example
Calculate check digit of the product code: 1522

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Original code :1 5 2 2
Assign weights :5 4 3 2
Multiply digit by weights :5 20 6 4 (e.g. 1 x 5 = 5, 5 x 4 = 20 etc)
Add products : 5 + 20 + 6 + 4 = 35
Divide sum by 11 : 35 / 11 = 3 remainder 2
Subtract remainder from 11 : 11 – 2 = 9

The check digit is therefore 9 and the complete code with the check digit would be :

15229

2. Parity bit method

Parity (computer science), the quality of sameness or equivalence. In reference to
computers, parity usually refers to an error-checking procedure in which the number
of 1's must always be the same—either even or odd—for each group of bits transmitted
without error

Parity bit
Is an extra bit(binary digit) 1 added to the character code.

Parity bit is used to determine if a byte representing a character has been received
correctly. The receiving device checks on the seven data bits and parity bit and counts
the number of 1s. Parity bit checks can either be even or odd parity:

 Even parity
The number of Is in each successfully transmitted set of bits must be an even
number and only then can the data be assumed to be correct

 Odd parity
The number of Is in each successfully transmitted set of bits must be an odd
number and only then can the data be assumed to be correct.

Note:
This method only works with systems that use 7 data bits such as viewdata systems
and don’t work on modern systems which use 8 data bits representing a character.

Other types of parity checks

 Space parity
Where a parity bit is used and always set to 0

 Mark parity
Where a parity bit is used and always set to 1

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If parity is checked on a per-character basis, the method is called vertical redundancy
checking, or VRC; if checked on a block-by-block basis, the method is called
longitudinal redundancy checking, or LRC. Parity is used for checking data transferred
within a computer or between computers.

In typical modem-to-modem microcomputer communications, parity is one of the

parameters that must be agreed upon by sending and receiving parties before
transmission can take place. Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005.

3. Checksum
Adding together all elements e.g. bytes of a block of data produces a single element
known as the checksum. The checksum can then be stored with the block of data and
provides a check when transmitted.
Other applications of checksumming
Checksumming, can also be used for detecting virus infection by using
mathematical calculations to compare the state of executable programs before and
after they are run. If the checksum has not changed, then the system is uninfected.
Checksumming software can detect an infection only after it has occurred. However,
as this technology is dated and some viruses can evade it.

The most serious threats to the integrity and authenticity of computer information
come from those who have been entrusted with usage privileges and yet commit
computer fraud. For example, authorized persons may secretly transfer money in
financial networks, alter credit histories, sabotage information, or commit bill
payment or payroll fraud. Modifying, removing, or misrepresenting existing data
threatens the integrity and authenticity of computer information. For example,
omitting sections of a bad credit history so that only the good credit history remains
violates the integrity of the document. Entering false data to complete a fraudulent
transfer or withdrawal of money violates the authenticity of banking information.
These crimes can be prevented by using a variety of techniques. One such
technique is checksumming. Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005

Checksumming sums the numerically coded word contents of a file before and after it
is used. If the sums are different, then the file has been altered.

Checksum is used to determine if a package of data has been received correctly

Note:
A parity bit is transmitted with the code for each character whereas the checksum is
transmitted with a block of data.

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 DATA LOGGING

Data logging is the process of collecting and recording data at timed regular intervals
over a period of time for later analysis.

See page 301 Information Systems For You for examples on application of data
logging(conditions in a fish tank, variation of water temperature e.g. heating or cooling
etc)

Data loggers normally have large buffers because they collect data over a long period
of time.

Online data logging

Is a data logging system where the sensors are directly connected to the computer or
data logging equipment and uploads readings instantly.

Remote data logging

Is a data logging system in which data sensors collect readings away from the
computer and then stored in a buffer or backup media. The readings will be uploaded
or transmitted later on to a computer for analysis.

Collection of data
Various sensors are normally used to collect data such as: temperature sensors,
weight sensors, pressure sensors, pH sensors, light sensors, humidity sensors, oxygen
and water level sensors.

NOTE: temperature data for computer processing is normally collected by any of the
devices below:
 Thermistor
 Digital thermometer
 Temperature sensor
 Temp probe
NOT ordinary thermometer as found in hospitals because it doesn’t have a computer
connection interface.

In most cases data collected from sensors is displayed in one of the following forms:

 Graphical form
 Tabular form
 Numeric form

logging interval
Refers to the time taken between one reading and the next reading e.g. per second, per
minute, per hour etc.

Period of logging
Refers to the total logging time from the first reading to the last reading.

Advantages of data logging over ordinary data collection methods(manual)

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 (a) Can be used to record of events that are too fast for humans to monitor
(b) Automatic data collection over a specified period of time
(c) More reliable and accurate readings e.g. trend of temperature rise of water bing
heated
(d) Constant readings as equipment does not get bored like humans
(e) Multiple(many) readings can be taken at the same time
(f) Greater frequency of readings e.g. every second or minute
(g) Has facility for storage of readings(buffer)
(h) Has facility for display of results

Example of data logging setup

A town council is planning to collect details of cars that pass through a certain bridge.
The equipment would be setup as follows:

 Pressure sensors or proximity sensors would be placed at the bridge entry

points to detect the number of cars that pass through the bridge and transmit
the readings to the connected side data logger equipment or buffer
 The logger or terminal would then in turn transmit the data to the main
computer for later analysis

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